27.6L booze banned for sale in state seized, 2 held
Thane: Illegal foreign liquor worth Rs 27.6 lakh was seized near the Kalyan bypass along Nashik-Mumbai highway on Wednesday. Two people have been arrested in this case.
This liquor, manufactured in Haryana, was being smuggled into the state, said the police.
Sale of this Harayana-made liquor is prohibited in Maharashtra, said officials of the state Excise Department's flying squad (Konkan Division, Thane).
The police said that the liquor consignment was intercepted near a dhaba at Sonavalegaon. Acting on a tip-off, the excise team laid a trap and intercepted a "suspicious" vehicle which was carrying 53 boxes of this liquor concealed in a hidden compartment.
The two who have been arrested — Vijay Raju Bajaj and Ravi Haresh Vishwakarma — are residents of Ulhasnagar.
During interrogation, the name of a third person, Gurumukh Devani, surfaced as the key conspirator in the smuggling operation, officials said, adding that he is 'absconding'.
A case has been filed under sections of Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949. "Things will be clear once we find the absconding person," said an official.
The raid was carried out under the guidance of state excise commissioner Rajesh Deshmukh, joint commissioner -Enforcement Prasad Surve, and deputy commissioner of Konkan Division Pradeep Pawar. The operation was led by police inspector Digambar Shewale and his team.
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