MillenniumPost
Delhi

More than 13 lakh bottles of illicit liquor seized in 2015-17

NEW DELHI: New Year's Day and Holi are among some festivals awaited eagerly not just by the public at large, but even by criminals, who use the festive opportunity for trafficking illicit liquor into the national Capital.
People involved in trade of illicit liquor have also tried to smuggle in alcohol during election time and Delhi Police have seized 13 lakh bottles of illicit liquor – including alcohol – over the last three years.
This year, Sangam Vihar police filed 52 cases of sale of illicit liquor, seizing 5,877 litres of illicit liquor in the process.
Police sources told Millennium Post that in 2015, around 2.79 lakh bottles of country-made liquor were seized; in 2016, the number was more than three lakh.
This year, so far, the number has exceeded four lakh.
Bottles of illicit Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) were also seized by city police.
In 2015, more than 50,000 bottles of IMFL were seized, while the number was over one lakh last year.
This year, more than 64,000 such bottles have been seized. The total number of bottles of illicit IMFL seized over the last three years was over 41,000.
In 2015, around 1,967 cases were reported under the Excise Act in Delhi.
More than 2,000 such cases were filed in 2016 and more than 2,300 cases have been registered so far this year.
Over the last three years, over 6,000 criminals involved illicit liquor trade were also nabbed by Delhi Police.
Several dealers are involved in the supply chain of illicit liquor, which makes it difficult to find the original kingpin.
Police sources said that these gangs regularly change their modus operandi and their modes of transporting liquor across states can vary between vegetable carrier trucks to goods vans.
People involved in the illegal business also change their timings of supply.
During heavy police presence at night, smugglers will move in the afternoon hours.
"Sometimes, they also send a man first on a motorcycle or car to check police presence in the streets. Later, the person gives signals the vehicle carrying the liquor to move," said a police source.
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