Surat, Feb 4 (IANS) Gujarat State Monitoring Cell has intercepted an illegal liquor consignment being smuggled via the Ro-Ro ferry operating between Hazira (Surat) and Ghogha (Bhavnagar).
During a crackdown, officials discovered 19,200 bottles of liquor worth Rs 19.20 lakh hidden inside a laminated steam boiler in an Eicher tempo parked at the Ro-Ro ferry terminal in Hazira.
Sources said that from the State Monitoring Cell, a team led by PSI V.C. Jadeja acted on a tip-off and conducted a thorough inspection of the tempo at the ferry parking area.
Upon removing the lamination from the steam boiler, officials found a massive stash of liquor inside. The team seized liquor, the boiler, the tempo, two mobile phones, and cash, amounting to a total value of Rs 36.09 lakh. The tempo driver, Hussain Mehboob Nadaf, and the owner, Hiralal Basha Nadaf, were immediately arrested.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that the consignment was intended for a contact in Veraval, Gir Somnath, who was to be contacted via mobile upon arrival. From there, the liquor was likely to be transported to Junagadh.
This was the sixth such trip undertaken by the accused to smuggle liquor through this route. On January 7, the State Monitoring Cell seized liquor worth Rs 26.63 lakh being smuggled via the Ro-Ro ferry from Daman to Junagadh, leading to the arrest of two individuals. That incident was also their second smuggling attempt.
Between April 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020, authorities confiscated alcohol worth approximately Rs 215 crore, averaging nearly Rs 34 lakh per day. This included 15.58 crore bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), 34.72 litres of country-made liquor, and 41.23 lakh beer bottles. In the two years leading up to December 2022, the Gujarat police, in collaboration with central agencies, seized narcotics and liquor valued at Rs 6,413 crore.
This comprised IMFL worth Rs 197.56 crore, country-made liquor worth Rs 3.99 crore, and beer bottles worth Rs 10.51 crore. During the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, enforcement agencies intensified their efforts, resulting in total seizures amounting to Rs 290.24 crore as of November 29, 2022. This figure is more than ten times the Rs 27.21 crore seized during the 2017 elections. The confiscated items included over four lakh liters of liquor valued at Rs 14.88 crore.
