Patna, May 25 (IANS): Liquor mafias are active in Bihar despite the state government imposing a lockdown in the state till June 1 to check the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A fresh case of liquor smuggling surfaced in Muzaffarpur district on Tuesday after the police seized more than 25 cartons of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), kept in a makeshift box underneath a tractor trolley.

Muzaffarpur police seized the tractor trolley during a raid at Bhikhanpur village under Ahiyapur police station.

"We had received a tip-off about a liquor consignment about to be smuggled in a tractor trolley. Subsequently, we went to the village and spotted a tractor coming from the opposite direction. We signalled it to stop and during checking when we pulled the hydraulic trolley, the liquor cartons were found underneath," said Sunil Kumar, SHO of Ahiyapur police station.

"During questioning, the driver of the tractor revealed the name of the owner of the consignment. Both the driver and the owner have been arrested. Further investigation is on to find out the nexus," Kumar said.

Sale of liquor is banned in Bihar since April 2016.