Liquor traffickers find new ways to run their business during lockdown

New Delhi: Liquor traffickers have now found the COVID-19 lockdown to be an extremely lucrative time for their activities as the ban on the sale of liquor is redirecting the entire demand to the black market, with police officers in the National Capital saying that they are now coming up with new modus operandi to continue their trade.

"A bottle worth Rs 300 is being sold for Rs 600 by these traffickers during the lockdown period. These traffickers are also seemingly taking advantage of the cravings of alcoholics to sell the illicit liquor at unreasonably higher prices," a Delhi Police official said.

Delhi Police data accessed by the Millennium Post revealed that from April 1 to April 15, around 147 cases under the Excise Act were registered and about 155 people were arrested for liquor trafficking. About 885 bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), 12,803 Country Made Liquor (CML) bottles and 4,868 beer bottles were recovered.

"From March 16 to March 31, as many as 78 liquor traffickers were nabbed. 1,909 IMFL, 27,289 CML and 403 beer bottles were recovered," the data shows. Sources said that over 50 cases were registered in this period.

During lockdown, theft at liquor stores in North Delhi and Outer Delhi were reported, while the police are probing whether it is the handiwork of illicit liquor syndicates or alcoholics who committed offence due to desperation caused following the lockdown. Investigators are also keeping an watch on online fake advertisements promising home delivery of liquor.

Starting from smuggling liquor inside ambulances, vegetable-laden vehicles, milk containers, flour sack to hiding it in abandoned plots, people have managed to find new ways to sell alcohol in the black market.

In some cases, the Delhi Police also found that traffickers were carrying movement passes with them and the role of women traffickers has also surfaced in these cases.

Recently, a team from the Mayapuri police station arrested a person who was hiding liquor bottles inside a spinach consignment. In Dwarka, police have recovered liquor bottles from freezers inside an ambulance, meant to preserve dead bodies.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Western Range) Shalini Singh said: "I have asked all policemen to check vehicles entering from bordering areas, even if they have movement passes." Baba Haridas Nagar police station, which is close to the Delhi-Haryana border, has registered 23 Excise Act cases and recovered 2,360 bottles.

On Monday, a man was arrested with 56 bottles of imported wine, vodka, whiskey by Kalkaji police. "Since liquor shops are closed during the lockdown and people are ready to buy wine at any cost, he, in order to make easy money during the lockdown, started supplying the imported liquor at inflated rates, after contacting clients on WhatsApp," said DCP (South East) RP Meena, adding that he had procured an e-Pass for delivery of essential items.

Investigators say that traffickers are smuggling small quantities to avoid detection and most of their buyers are reached out through word-of-mouth or personal contacts on social media. "Once everything like rates is fixed, they deliver the alcohol to client or some time they also do home delivery," one cop said.