MARGAO
The team also nabbed another person from Ponda, Meemash Abdul Sattar Siddique, a resident of Bethora-Ponda, earlier in the day after he was found in possession of 28,000 unused bottle caps, besides empty bottles. The excise team suspects that these unused caps and empty bottles were to be used to bottle duplicate liquor.
Briefing the media, Maharashtra Excise official Subhash Jadav said the arrest of Pradeep Pandey will unearth the modus operandi used by the bootleggers to bottle duplicate liquor and transport it to Mumbai and Thana by trains. “We will go to the bottom of the racket and will find out who are the kingpins behind the liquor racket. We are certain that this activity is not restricted to these accused, but they have the support of influential people from Goa and Mumbai,” Jadav said, reiterating that the racket involves bottling of cheap liquor as branded one before smuggling the consignment to Maharashtra.
When asked whether the excise officials suspect the involvement of railway officials in the racket, Jadav said everything will be known only after the custodial interrogation of Pandey.
On seizure of liquor from Khareband video parlour last Sunday, Jadav said all the three persons arrested from Margao are still in police custody, adding that investigations are underway to find out whether the the owner of the premise was aware of the racket.
With the arrest of the two accused from Margao and Ponda, the Maharashtra Excise has arrested a total of seven persons in the spurious liquor racket.
