PANAJI
As Goa inches closer to its date with elections on May 7, liquor seizures amounting to Rs 3.05 crore since the commencement of the code of conduct mid-March have unveiled a concerning trend.
Data available with The Goan reveals that in North Goa, the excise teams have seized 39,599.920 bulk litres of liquor while in South, 12,459.839 bulk litres have been confiscated.
In all, the department registered 126 cases with hotspots emerging in Bardez that boast of the highest licenses, followed by Pernem, where recent crackdowns on illegal transportation have borne fruit, and subsequently Salcete.
“These 126 cases involve seizures of liquor along with cases of improper liquor inventory management,” an official said.
The Patradevi checkpoint emerges as a focal point even as the flying squads besides excise and police officials have been camping to prevent illegalities.
Barely ten days ago, a truck en route from Goa to Maharashtra was intercepted at the Patradevi wherein the excise officials seized liquor worth Rs 42.63 lakh being clandestinely transported.
Moreover, a raid conducted at an unauthorized premises at Dandevado-Chinchinim in Salcete -- suspected of storing liquor illegally -- resulted in the confiscation of around 4,028.71 litres of liquor, valued at around Rs 12.9 lakh.
Similarly, officials from the Ponda excise intercepted a parked truck at Curti, seizing unaccounted 3,742 litres of liquor, with an estimated value of Rs 17.16 lakh.
On Easter Sunday, Excise officials, along with a flying squad, intercepted liquor worth Rs 30 lakhs and cash amounting to about Rs 5.3 lakhs in separate incidents at checkpoints in Patradevi and Keri-Sattari.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Goa had recently revealed that illicit materials including cash, liquor, and drugs totaling Rs 2441.27 lakh from March 1 to April 4. Of these were cash amounting to Rs 1562.21561 lakh, 66620.13 litres of liquor valued at Rs 87.99053 lakh, and drugs totaling 26088.15 grams worth Rs 302.827 lakh.
