New Delhi: From time to time, illicit liquor suppliers have tried their best outfox Delhi Police, by changing their modus operandi to smuggle liquor into or out of the Capital.
This time, police busted a new modus operandi wherein a modified vehicle – with the label 'Bharat Sarkar' (Government of India) affixed on it – was used to bypass police barricades without checking.
The vehicle in question was used by Salim, whose luck ran out on March 8 after he was arrested from Keshav Chowk flyover in north east Delhi, and several cartons illicit liquor were recovered from the car.
"There is one more accused named Hassan, who used to pay Salim Rs 800 per trip," said a police source, adding that 55 cartons of Haryana-made liquor and 10 cartons of beer were recovered from the car.
Salim, a resident of Meerut, is being grilled about his involvement in the racket.
Police sources told Millennium Post that he had been driving the vehicle for the last three months to deliver the consignments of liquor in north east Delhi, north west Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
The arrest was made by the team of Inspector Raj Kumar, SHO, Welcome police station.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East) Atul Kumar Thakur said they will seek police custody of Salim, so as to unravel the whole racket.
Speaking about the car, Thakur said it was specially designed for transporting illicit liquor, with all but the front seats removed. "He disclosed that he used the car with a fake sticker to evade detection by authorities," the DCP added.
According to police data, as of January, more than 32,000 litres of country-made liquor has been recovered this year.
This included 200 bottles of beers, as well as more than 4,000 litres of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL).
Police claimed that use of several vehicles and new drivers for the supply of illegal liquor in different states has been a trend, used regularly by different gangs to dodge the city police.