Bihar-bound illegal liquor consigment worth Rs 10 lakh seized at UP border

Ballia: A consignment of illegal liquor worth Rs 10 lakh that was being smuggled to Bihar via the river route has been intercepted by the police, officials said on Tuesday.

One person has been arrested in this connection on Monday, they said.

Bairia Circle Officer Mohammad Faheem Qureshi said on Tuesday, "Based on a tip-off that liquor was being transported to Bihar through the river from Shivpur, the Dokati police set up a checkpoint 100 metres ahead of the location."

"When a vehicle approached, its driver attempted to flee after abandoning it, but the police acted swiftly and apprehended him," he said.

The arrested individual was identified as Sonu Baheliya (29), a resident of Ganga Pandey Ka Tola in Reoti police station area, Ballia.

"A Mahindra Bolero pickup was seized from him, containing 200 cartons of English liquor. Each carton had 48 bottles, making a total of 1,728 litres, valued at Rs 10 lakh," Qureshi said.

A case has been registered at Dokati police station under the Excise Act, and the accused has been sent to jail following legal proceedings.

Two days earlier, another consignment of English liquor worth Rs 25 lakh, meant for Bihar, was seized near the Jayaprabha Setu police picket.

The police said they had recovered 425 cartons containing 3,672 litres of liquor and arrested two smugglers identified as Amarjit Singh from Jayaprakash Nagar (Bhawan Tola) and Manjeet Verma from Singhachawar in the Gadwar police station area.