Rajkot, June 6 (IANS) A consignment of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth more than Rs 63 lakh was seized from a truck parked at a hotel on the Rajkot-Bhavnagar highway during a prohibition raid conducted by the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) on Saturday, officials said.

According to the SMC, the raid was carried out at the parking area of Tulsi Hotel near Halenda village under the jurisdiction of Aji Dam Police Station in Rajkot city.

During the operation, officers recovered 5,280 bottles of IMFL valued at Rs 63.14 lakh from a Tata truck.

Police also seized the truck, valued at Rs 20 lakh, along with 2,340 bags of Mor Light liquid detergent worth Rs 14.01 lakh that were allegedly being used as cover cargo. The total value of the seized property and goods amounted to Rs 97.16 lakh.

A case has been registered under Sections 65(A)(E), 81, 83, 98(2) and 116(B) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act. No arrests were made during the raid.

The State Monitoring Cell has, however, declared four persons wanted in connection with the case.

They include the unidentified driver of the truck, the intended receiver of the liquor, the sender of the consignment from outside Gujarat and the owner of the truck.

The accused have not yet been traced and further investigation is underway to establish the source, transportation route and intended destination of the liquor consignment.

The seizure is among the larger prohibition-related interceptions reported in Gujarat in recent weeks.

Last month, law enforcement agencies seized IMFL worth more than Rs 29 lakh in two separate operations in Gandhinagar, recovering more than 5,200 bottles and beer cans from vehicles that were later found abandoned after drivers fled police checks.

In another recent case, police in Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar district dismantled an illegal IMFL manufacturing unit and seized liquor, machinery and other material worth Rs 15.25 lakh.

Six people were arrested while three alleged operators were declared absconding.

–IANS

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