BELAGAVI
In a major raid, Belagavi Excise officials have seized counterfeit Goa liquor worth Rs 48.96 lakh from a truck headed for Thane-Maharashtra in the wee hours of Tuesday. The truck driver, however, managed to flee from the site.
Excise officials will now contact their counterparts from Goa, as questions are being raised as to how the vehicle could pass the heavily guarded Goa check post at Keri.
Giving details about the raid, Jt Commissioner of Excise Y Manjunath said a truck reached at the excise check point at around 1 am on Tuesday.
The container carrying empty plastic cans and buckets from Goa was intercepted and the GST documents were checked and verified by the officials.
However, after suspicion the excise staff checked the vehicle. It was found that the truck was carrying around 3,000 counterfeit liquor bottles which was concealed inside the container. The cost of the seized liquor was estimated at Rs 48.96 lakh.
“The brand of liquor is bottled in Maharashtra. Whether the liquor was distilled in Goa and was illegally being carried to Maharashtra is being investigated,” said Manjunath.
The container truck as well as plastic cans and buckets worth Rs 30,000 have been also seized by excise officials.
“We always ask the officers and employees of our department to be alert especially if there are elections in neighbouring states of Maharashtra or Karnataka. Perhaps due to the forthcoming elections in Maharashtra, such a huge stock of bottles was being transported. The seizure was possible due to the training given to the officers and employees and their experience,” Manjunath said.
