CANACONA
Canacona excise officers seized 300 cartons of whiskey worth Rs 18.72 lakh after finding them concealed behind potato sacks in an interstate truck at the Polem checkpost late on Sunday night.
According to sources, a loaded interstate truck arrived at the Polem checkpost at around 11 pm while travelling to Karwar.
During a routine inspection, excise officers sought details of the cargo and became suspicious when they were told that potatoes were being transported from Goa to Karnataka. The officers then decided to conduct a physical inspection of the container.
Excise officers entered the cargo area and found several sacks containing potatoes. On closer inspection, they found cartons concealed among the sacks. While the inspection was under way, the driver and cleaner fled the spot under the cover of darkness.
The cartons were seized, and on Monday, a team led by Excise Inspector Rohit Desai confirmed that there were 300 boxes of whiskey valued at around Rs 18.72 lakh.
“The truck driver initially tried to mislead the excise officers by stating that potatoes were being sent from Goa to Karnataka, when it is known that truckloads of potatoes are regularly brought into Goa from Karnataka,” said Desai.
The truck has also been detained in connection with the seizure, while further investigations are under way.
