<p>With a sharp increase in cases of illegal liquor sale, excise officials nabbed a man selling alcohol, belonging to the defence department, via Instagram.</p>.<p>Following days of pursuit, a team led by Excise Deputy Commissioner (West Zone) B R Hiremath and inspector Vanajakshi grabbed Kiran (28) as he carried expensive whisky in his scooter to sell. Using the lockdown that has forced the closure of bars as an excuse, Kiran posted pictures of liquor bottles with his phone number on Instagram to lure desperate tipplers. Though he initially priced the bottles thrice the market rate, he would further hike it depending on the customer’s level of desperation.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Hollywood style </strong></p>.<p>The modus operandi was straight out of a Hollywood flick. Kiran would never handover liquor directly to the buyer nor receive money personally.</p>.<p>“The payments would take place online through Google Pay, PhonePe and other apps. Once the money is paid, he would tell the buyer to arrive at a place where the bottle would be kept hidden,” an official said.</p>.<p>Excise officials confronted him near a hotel at KHB Colony as he carried a bottle of 750 ml Blenders Pride whisky in his scooter. “Preliminary inquiries revealed that he operated mainly in Vijayanagar and RPC Layout. He would recce those areas with landmarks, having little police presence, and easily identifiable for the buyers,” an official said.</p>.<p>He would place a bottle and cover it with newspaper to make it seem like it was garbage. Kiran also spied on the buyers to ensure that they were not officials disguised as customers. He would give the bottle’s location only when he was sure his tracks were covered.</p>.<p>Excise officials spent several days trying to corner Kiran as he grew suspicious and stopped transacting with them. “Finally, we used an untraceable number and introduced ourselves as people from north India wanting to buy alcohol. Kiran was paid through an online platform, following which officials went in civilian clothes and nabbed him." </p>
<p>With a sharp increase in cases of illegal liquor sale, excise officials nabbed a man selling alcohol, belonging to the defence department, via Instagram.</p>.<p>Following days of pursuit, a team led by Excise Deputy Commissioner (West Zone) B R Hiremath and inspector Vanajakshi grabbed Kiran (28) as he carried expensive whisky in his scooter to sell. Using the lockdown that has forced the closure of bars as an excuse, Kiran posted pictures of liquor bottles with his phone number on Instagram to lure desperate tipplers. Though he initially priced the bottles thrice the market rate, he would further hike it depending on the customer’s level of desperation.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Hollywood style </strong></p>.<p>The modus operandi was straight out of a Hollywood flick. Kiran would never handover liquor directly to the buyer nor receive money personally.</p>.<p>“The payments would take place online through Google Pay, PhonePe and other apps. Once the money is paid, he would tell the buyer to arrive at a place where the bottle would be kept hidden,” an official said.</p>.<p>Excise officials confronted him near a hotel at KHB Colony as he carried a bottle of 750 ml Blenders Pride whisky in his scooter. “Preliminary inquiries revealed that he operated mainly in Vijayanagar and RPC Layout. He would recce those areas with landmarks, having little police presence, and easily identifiable for the buyers,” an official said.</p>.<p>He would place a bottle and cover it with newspaper to make it seem like it was garbage. Kiran also spied on the buyers to ensure that they were not officials disguised as customers. He would give the bottle’s location only when he was sure his tracks were covered.</p>.<p>Excise officials spent several days trying to corner Kiran as he grew suspicious and stopped transacting with them. “Finally, we used an untraceable number and introduced ourselves as people from north India wanting to buy alcohol. Kiran was paid through an online platform, following which officials went in civilian clothes and nabbed him." </p>
