Delhi Police busts interstate liquor smuggling racket using 'wood polish' cover

Delhi Police have busted an interstate liquor smuggling racket, arresting one person and investigating further under organised crime provisions, after discovering concealed liquor in cartons labelled as 'wood polish'.

The Delhi Police has busted an interstate liquor smuggling racket that allegedly used cartons labelled as ''wood polish'' and packed liquor bottles inside plastic buckets covered with sawdust to transport the consignment to Bihar, a dry state, an official said on Tuesday.

One person has been arrested in connection with the case, while police said the syndicate is now being investigated under organised crime provisions.

The racket came to light after a franchise owner of a logistics company at Wazirpur Industrial Area (WPIA), received 33 cartons for transportation to Muzaffarpur in Bihar on May 17.

''The cartons were booked by a person identified as Amit under the guise of 'wood polish'. On suspicion, the complainant checked one carton and found liquor bottles concealed inside plastic buckets covered with wood powder and sawdust,'' a police officer said.

Soon after, the accused allegedly switched off his mobile phone, prompting the logistics operator to alert police.

During inspection of all the cartons, police recovered 2,968 quarter bottles of liquor labelled ''For Sale in U.T. Chandigarh Only'', concealed inside 198 plastic buckets packed in cartons.

''The liquor was being transported in a disguised manner to Bihar by using innovative concealment techniques to evade detection,'' the officer said.

An FIR under sections of the Delhi Excise Act was registered at Ashok Vihar police station. During investigation, Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to organised crime was also invoked, police said.

Police conducted raids and arrested the accused, Amit (26), from a timber godown in Swaroop Nagar that was allegedly being used as a secret packaging and concealment hub for the illicit consignments.

Police said Amit, a resident of Badli Industrial Area and native of Bihar, has no previous criminal involvement.

During the raid at the godown, police recovered a machine used for airtight sealing of buckets and boxes, cartons and packing material used to disguise the liquor consignments, GST invoices and e-way bills suspected to be forged, and a tempo allegedly used to transport the consignments to the logistics office.

The police suspect fake GST documentation was prepared to portray the consignments as legitimate commercial goods, and the role of accountants and other associates involved in generating forged invoices and e-way bills is under scrutiny.

''The accused had developed a highly deceptive and innovative liquor smuggling mechanism under the camouflage of industrial goods. Liquor consignments meant for Bihar were disguised as wood polish material to avoid suspicion during transportation,'' a senior police officer said.

Further investigation is underway to trace the entire supply chain and identify other members of the interstate liquor syndicate, police added.