Daijiworld News Network - Mangalore (MB) - Pics Dayanand Kukkaje

• Spirit worth over Rs 10 lac seized in boat moored for repairs
• It was being smuggled from Goa to Kerala
• Breakdown of boat in transit played the spoilsport
• Two persons arrested

Mangalore, Sep 17: In what can be termed a prized catch, DySP Harishchandra and his team seized a large consignment of rectified spirit meant for liquor-making in a boat moored in the old port here.

Spirit estimated to be valued at Rs 10.50 lac (one million fifty thousand) has been seized from the boat and two persons, Vijayakumar and Damodar, hailing from Alleppey in Kerala, have been arrested.

It is by sheer chance that the case of smuggling came to light. The duo in the boast faced some mechanical problems and cruised to the Mangalore coast looking for getting the fault rectified. They were looking for some 'trustworthy' person, so as the secret of contraband would not be known to anyone.

The stories of smuggling of spirit from Goa to Karnataka to Kerala have been making rounds for long. Even the sea route was thought to be a safer conduit because of the several checkposts functioning on the surface route. It is apparently a tip of the iceberg and it has also surprised the police sources here how this trade was possible when two commands of the Coast Guard were functioning, one each in Goa and Mangalore. On this point, the local police can claim it to be a real triumph over the other agencies.

However, a police source explained to Daijiworld that since the mode of transport was a fishing boat, it was not possible to intercept each and every boat in transit over the Arabian Sea between various ports and harbours of the western coast.