Smuggled liquor worth Rs 51 lakh seized in Gopalganj

Patna: Excise officials seized another big consignment of Indian made foreign liquor worth at least Rs51 lakh from the sales tax check post at Jalalpur under Kuchaikote police station in Gopalganj district on Sunday.
The consignment was smuggled from Sonipat in Haryana in a container truck. Truck driver Pawan Kumar (35), also a native of Sonipat, was arrested. One person managed to escape.
“Total 4,032 whiskey bottles sealed in 436 cartons were kept in the truck.To fool the officials, liquor bottles were kept behind 25 sacks of fodder loaded on the truck,” said Gopalganj excise superintendent Priyaranjan.
He also said the truck was parked at the Jalalpur check post and crossed it on Saturday night. He said two excise sub-inspectors were sent to the spot for investigation after receiving a tip-off and recovered the concealed liquor by removing the fodder sacks.
“The sales tax personnel were given a written application to check the vehicle after which it was opened in front of them. The truck had the document which mentioned it was transporting fodder,” said the excise superintendent.
He said the driver revealed the consignment was en route to Muzaffarpur. When asked, Priyaranjan said the driver was being interrogated about the persons guiding the truck in Bihar and with whom he was in contact.
“Muzaffarpur had the highest minimum guarantee (HMG) quota for foreign liquor after Patna before prohibition was enforced on April 5. It also falls on the NH-57 providing easy connectivity. For both the reasons, liquor smugglers have turned the district into a dumping yard from where alcohol is being supplied to other places, mainly Patna,” Priyaranjan added.