New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) The Delhi Police’s South District personnel on Monday busted a well-organised inter-state liquor smuggling syndicate operating between Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, recovering illicit liquor worth approximately Rs 1.50 crore and arresting three bootleggers involved in the racket.

According to Delhi Police, the operation was carried out by the Mehrauli Police Station team following sustained surveillance, patrolling, and intelligence gathering in the area amid repeated incidents related to illicit liquor smuggling.

Police said a dedicated team had been constituted to identify and apprehend bootleggers operating within the jurisdiction of PS Mehrauli.

On May 18, while conducting routine patrolling in the Mehrauli area, police intercepted a tempo being driven by accused Akhilesh Kumar Singh. During inspection, the vehicle was found loaded with 63 boxes of illicit liquor.

The illicit liquor, along with the vehicle, was immediately seized, and legal proceedings were initiated.

During sustained interrogation, accused Akhilesh Kumar Singh disclosed that he used to transport illicit liquor to Okhla Railway Station at the instructions of co-accused Upender Singh and his son Ankit Singh in exchange for monetary benefits.

Acting on the information provided by the accused, police conducted a raid at the residence of Upender Singh and Ankit Singh in Rajpur Khurd village in Delhi. During the raid, 11 additional boxes of illicit liquor were recovered, and both accused were apprehended on the spot.

Further interrogation revealed that the accused procured illicit liquor from Mohit, a resident of Gurugram, and transported the consignments to railway parcel booking points through the intercepted tempo. The consignments were then allegedly dispatched to Bengaluru under the guise of commercial goods.

At the instance of the accused persons, another six boxes of illicit liquor were recovered from a car, which was also seized in the case.

Considering the interstate nature of the syndicate, a special police team was immediately dispatched to Bengaluru. In a swift and coordinated operation, the team recovered 74 boxes of illicit liquor containing approximately 1,118 bottles from a train at Yeshwantpur Railway Station in Bengaluru.

The recovered liquor was handed over to the Karnataka Excise Department, and legal proceedings were initiated under the relevant provisions of the Karnataka Excise Act.

Police said another case vide FIR No. 037/2026 under Sections 11, 12, 14, 15, 32(1), and 43 of the Excise Act was also registered on May 23, 2026, in connection with the recovered consignment.

The investigation revealed that the accused had developed a systematic modus operandi to evade suspicion and avoid detection by law enforcement agencies.

According to police, the syndicate used private booking agencies and railway parcel booking services to transport illicit liquor from Delhi to Bengaluru. The consignments were falsely declared as commercial goods such as LED televisions and electronic items, while the liquor was concealed within the packages.

Investigators further revealed that the accused had allegedly been operating this concealment and transportation network continuously for the last one-and-a-half years. The consignments reportedly passed through multiple railway parcel offices and booking points without detection.

Police said the syndicate operated through interstate linkages extending from Delhi and Gurugram to Bengaluru.

Further investigation regarding financial transactions, logistics channels and the involvement of other syndicate members is currently underway.

The operation was conducted by a dedicated police team comprising Inspector Kedar, SI Amit Kumar, ASIs Sunil Kumar and Ravi Kaushik, Head Constables Deepak Sharma, Gajraj, Harshwardhan, and Rohitash, and constables Vinod and Manjeet.

The team worked under the supervision of the ACP Mehrauli and was led by Inspector Ritesh Kumar, SHO/Mehrauli.

The arrested accused have been identified as Akhilesh Kumar Singh, 34, a resident of Paharganj; Upender Singh, 45, a resident of Rajpur Khurd; and Ankit Singh, 23, also a resident of Rajpur Khurd in Delhi.

Delhi Police said the successful recovery of large quantities of illicit liquor from Delhi and Bengaluru, along with the seizure of two vehicles used in transportation, reflects the South District Police’s strong commitment to curbing organised crime and illegal interstate trafficking networks.

–IANS

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