After Khoda incident, cops crackdown on illicit liquor syndicate

Ghaziabad/Noida: Following the death of four people after consuming spurious liquor in Ghaziabad's Khoda area on Tuesday, the Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad police undertook drives to crack down on illegal sale of country-made liquor and seized large quantities of smuggled liquor from various places in both districts.

According to police, in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, cops arrested a liquor smuggler and confiscated 425 cartons of Arunachal Pradesh-made liquor from Ecotech-3 area of Greater Noida on Wednesday.

Around 44 cartons of smuggled liquor were seized and two men arrested from Sector-58 area of Noida on Tuesday night.

Moreover, around 20 cartons of Haryana-made liquor were seized from Bisrakh area of Greater Noida on Tuesday.

A similar drive was undertaken by Ghaziabad police, in which around a thousand smaller-sized illicit liquor bottles, 25 cartons of liquors smuggled from other states and large quantity of marijuana from various sensitive spots around the district were seized.

The drives were undertaken by police and excise teams.

Police said that the liquor is smuggled from other states, mixed with cheap and toxic chemicals, and then repacked in new bottles, to maximise profits.

These bottles are then sold at local tea kiosks, grocery shops and houses in secluded places of various areas.

The poor, migrant workers and labourers are easy prey for these smugglers, said police.

Meanwhile, Ghaziabad Police also registered three separate FIRs against liquor mafia in Khoda, based on a complaint given by family members of the victims who died after consuming bootlegged liquor on Tuesday.

Police said they have arrested three accused, while teams have been formed to nab the other culprits.

Though people are lauding the work done by police, a sudden and massive crackdown on smugglers in various areas under almost every police station of these districts made people suspicious about whether cops were already aware of these liquor smuggling points and whether they were running under the support of police.

"Many people have been going to Khoda to buy liquor for years. Neither the police, nor the excise teams had ever raided the place. It seems like they were waiting for a mishap, before cracking down on them" a woman residing in Khoda alleged.