Illicit liquor worth Rs 21L seized in Hapur as UP cracks whip against smuggling

Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur police seized a shipment of illicit liquor worth Rs 21 lakh from a truck heading from Punjab to Kolkata in poll-bound West Bengal on Thursday.

The seizure was made at a time when the UP government has stepped up measures to curb distillation and sale of illicit liquor and smuggling of English wine in areas adjoining Delhi and Haryana in view of the forthcoming festival of Holi and the panchayat elections in the state.

According to Hapur police, three suspects following the truck in a car with Punjab registration number plates were arrested. The truck driver fled leaving the vehicle behind. The liquor was hidden under a consignment of spare parts of 300 new bicycles.

During initial interrogation, the suspects revealed that the truck was loaded with bicycle spare parts in Ludhiana in Punjab and later, the illicit liquor was hidden underneath it to avoid suspicion.

The demand for liquor has shot up, said additional chief secretary of excise Sanjay R Bhoosreddy. In fact, the state excise department has already earned Rs 218 crore in excess by February-end this year in comparison to the previous financial year.

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