Vadodara, July 8 (IANS) The Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) on Wednesday seized Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 78 lakh during a raid in Vadodara city, uncovering what investigators believe to be part of an interstate liquor smuggling network.

According to the officials, the operation was carried out following directions from the Director General of Police (DGP), G.S. Malik, to intensify legal action against illegal liquor and gambling activities across the state.

Acting on specific information, Police Sub-Inspector V.N. Jadeja of the State Monitoring Cell raided an area near Mahadev Hotel at Kapurai Chokdi in Vadodara.

During the operation, officers recovered 500 cartons containing 22,116 bottles of IMFL valued at Rs 78 lakh. Including the truck and other seized property, the total value of the confiscated material was estimated at Rs 93.06 lakh.

Police arrested Daman Sharma, a resident of Dharuhera town in Haryana’s Rewari district, who was working as the cleaner of the truck transporting the liquor.

Investigators have also named four other accused, including the truck driver, Khilu Saini, of Pataudi in Haryana; the alleged consignor, Joga Yadav, of Najafgarh in Delhi; and two others, including the person accused of ordering the consignment. In all, five people have been booked.

A case has been registered at Kapurai Police Station in Vadodara under relevant provisions of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, including Sections 65(A)(E), 81, 83, 98(2) and 116(B), along with Sections 336(2), 336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The investigation is continuing to trace the remaining accused and establish the wider supply chain.

The latest seizure adds to a series of major prohibition enforcement operations carried out by the State Monitoring Cell in recent weeks.

On June 10, the SMC intercepted a truck near Bibipura village on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad Expressway in Ahmedabad Rural and seized IMFL worth more than Rs 1.49 crore, bringing the total value of the recovered property to more than Rs 1.74 crore.

In another operation on June 24, the State Monitoring Cell seized IMFL worth more than Rs 63 lakh from a truck in Surendranagar district.

The total seizure, including the vehicle and other property, was valued at over Rs 93 lakh, while police arrested the driver and launched efforts to trace other members of the alleged interstate smuggling network.

–IANS

mys/dan