Police Seize Huge Liquor Consignment, 4 Arrested

vijayapura: The Vijayapura district police on Tuesday seized a large quantity of liquor and arrested four persons who were allegedly carrying it from Goa to Maharashtra illegally, concealed under bags of vermicompost in a truck. Police said the seized liquor was worth Rs 74.68 lakh in Goa, but its value would rise to around Rs 1.37 lakh in Karnataka due to the difference in liquor prices between the two states.

The seizure was made early on Tuesday near Kolhar Naka within the limits of Jalanagar police station.

According to a tip-off from DySP, Nagaraj J and his team rushed to Naka and noticed the truck and found a large quantity of liquor hidden under vermicompost bags and covered with tarpaulin.

During the search, police seized 3,480 bottles of Mansion House Brandy, 19,056 bottles of Royal Blue and 38,400 bottles of Royal Select liquor, amounting to a total of 12,952 liters of alcohol worth Rs 74.68 lakh.

Police also seized the truck used for transportation, 60 bags of worm castings and the tarpaulin used to hide the liquor. The total value of the seized property, including the vehicle, is estimated at Rs 1.02 billion.

The arrested defendants are Srinivas Meesi (25), a truck driver from Jalligere village in Gadag district; Husainsab Mulla (35), a resident of Gandhinagar in Vijayapura, Siddaram Dale (24) from Solapur in Maharashtra and Basavaraj Bhajantri (31), a resident of Gadi Somanal village in Talikote taluk, currently residing in Vijayapura.

According to the police, the accused failed to produce any valid documents for transportation of liquor and admitted that the consignment was moved from Panaji in Goa to Maharashtra.

A case was registered at Jalanagar police station under Sections 32, 34 and 38(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act. While all four suspects were detained, it was learned that the investigation continues.

Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi praised the police team for detecting and seizing the illegal liquor transport.