Crooks use ‘defence’ tag to supply illicit liquor

Link to article when available or URL to publication: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fake-liquor-brands-cheap-duplicate-labels-of-alcohol-seized/1/240319.html
Next time, if you see a liquor bottle bearing the stamp of ‘For Sale to Defence Personnel Only’, don’tblindly trust its quality, for it could be illicit liquor with fake labels. Excise officials have seized duplicatelabels of Indian Manufactured Foreign Liquor (IMFL) meant for defence personnel only. As many as 20boxes of liquor bottles were also recovered from the accused. It is suspected that such labels mighthave been used for selling Haryana-made liquor or any illicit alcohol in the national Capital. Exciseintelligence officials, for the last few months, have been cracking down harder on those who smuggleliquor from other places to the Capital. The smuggled liquor has not only caused revenue loss to theDelhi government but also raised alarm over the quality of alcohol served in the city. In the massivecrackdown, the officials have seized 82,589 bottles of IMFL and 2,656 bottles of foreign liquor this yeartill December 25. When compared to the last year’s data, the recovery in case of IMFL was more thanthree times this year while in case of foreign liquor it was four times. However, the seizure of fake labelsof IMFL meant for defence personnel on December 17 was an eye-opener. The officials also recovered20 boxes of liquor from the car of Anil Sharma. Sharma, who was reportedly staying in high securitySouth Avenue locality, was caught at Mother Teresa Crescent road in Chanakyapuri. After the seizure,the case was referred to the local police for investigation and an FIR was registered. A preliminaryinquiry revealed that the accused was coming from Haryana, and liquor was meant for delivery inthe Capital.A police official said that samples of liquor of all the brands had been sent for qualityexamination and the reports were awaited. A senior excise department official said it was alarming asthese labels could be used for selling illicit liquor. “How could one verify if he sells inferior quality ofliquor by pasting these labels (on bottles)? People can easily be cheated under the impression that theliquor is of good quality as it is for defence personnel,” said the official. Official sources said it is commonpractice to procure costly liquor from outside and serve it in parties in the Capital to evade taxes.