Daijiworld News Network - Bantwal/Vittal (AF/GA)

Bantwal, April 25: On what seems to be a sensational attempt to smuggle spurious liquor, police on Sunday April 23 caught a gang of thieves who were trying to escape with nine sacks of arrack sachets, with as many as 500 packets in each.

On the evening of Sunday April 23, police sub Inspector of Vittal and his staff were on a routine vehicle checking at Kashimatha of Vittal Casaba when a Maruti-800, was asked to stop.  The driver refused to stop and drove past the police team, which immediately roused suspicion. A chase followed for a kilometre, but when the car stopped, two of the three occupants were found missing.

The driver, Jattappa Gowda on questioning confessed that they were carrying five sacks, each containing 500 sachets of arrack to Kerala. He further disclosed that there were another four such sacs awaiting transportation in a jeep at his house. The police lost no time in seizing all the nine sacs with 500 arrack sachets in each, and also the Maruti-800 the accused were driving and the Mahindra jeep.

They arrested Jattappa and are on the look-out for his accomplices Sathish Madiwala and Francis who managed to escape during the police raid.

The Vittal police are investigating the case.