- विज्ञापन -
Ahmedabad: Chhota Udepur, located at the intersection of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, has emerged as a critical route for bootleggers smuggling liquor into Gujarat. In response, local police have ramped up enforcement actions, intercepting multiple shipments. In a recent crackdown, the Chhota Udepur crime branch received a tip-off while on a routine patrol about a Tata mini truck allegedly transporting illicit Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) concealed under sacks of rice.
Police established a checkpoint near Rangpur Naka and stopped the truck with registration number GJ-09-Y-5307. A thorough inspection revealed liquor valued at Rs 13.77 lakh hidden beneath the rice bags. The total confiscated, including the vehicle, reached Rs 20.83 lakh. Authorities have registered a case and are continuing their investigations.
District Police Chief Imtiaz Sheikh noted that the crime branch has successfully carried out five significant liquor seizures recently. These include Rs 4.25 lakh worth of liquor hidden among vegetable shipments from Modasar Crossroad, Bodeli; Rs 11.70 lakh worth concealed under sand in Dhamodi; Rs 3.91 lakh worth smuggled inside dolomite powder near Rangpur Naka; and another Rs 7.49 lakh worth camouflaged under vegetable loads. Altogether, law enforcement has seized illicit liquor and related materials valued at Rs 41.13 lakh, resulting in the arrest of seven suspects.
The accused have been charged under pertinent laws and are currently in custody as authorities continue their rigorous efforts against illegal liquor smuggling in the region. Despite Gujarat’s prohibition policy established in 1948, the state still faces considerable challenges with clandestine liquor activities.
In 2021, authorities confiscated an average of 11 bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) per minute, totaling 57.12 lakh bottles valued at Rs 122 crore. This represented an increase from 2020, which recorded 45.15 lakh bottles worth Rs 114 crore seized. The number of prohibition cases rose from 1.53 lakh in 2020 to 1.69 lakh in 2021, with around 1.67 lakh individuals arrested for bootlegging that year.
In the first half of 2024, the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) executed 180 successful raids across Gujarat, seizing illicit liquor valued at Rs 11.5 crore and other illegal goods totaling Rs 26 crore. Ahmedabad led the state with 17 liquor cases, followed by Surat with 13, Vadodara with five, and Rajkot with none. Notably, Ahmedabad consistently had the highest number of illegal liquor cases among the state’s four police commissionerates.
From January 2021 to December 2022, Gujarat’s law enforcement agencies seized narcotic drugs worth Rs 4,058.01 crore and liquor valued at Rs 211.86 crore. Vadodara district ranked first in seizures, totaling Rs 1,620.7 crore, followed by Bharuch at Rs 1,389.91 crore, and Kutch at Rs 1,040.57 crore.
During this timeframe, more than 3 lakh individuals were arrested for liquor and drug-related offenses, with approximately 37 lakh bottles of liquor confiscated.
