Liquor worth Rs 1.50 crore seized as Delhi Police bust interstate smuggling syndicate; 3 held

Delhi and Bengaluru police have busted an interstate liquor smuggling network, recovering 154 boxes of illicit spirits worth Rs 1.50 crore and arresting three individuals.

Police have busted an interstate liquor smuggling network and recovered 154 boxes of illicit spirits worth around Rs 1.50 crore from Delhi and Bengaluru while arresting three people, an official said on Monday.

During the operation, the Delhi Police recovered 154 boxes of illicit liquor, including 80 boxes in Delhi and 74 boxes from a train at Bengaluru's Yeshwantpur Railway Station, seizing two vehicles used in the crime, they said.

''The accused have been identified as Akhilesh Kumar Singh, 34, Upender Singh, 45, and his son Ankit Singh, 23,'' said the police officer.

The police launched the operation following repeated incidents related to illicit liquor smuggling that were reported in the Mehrauli area, they said.

On May 18, a police team intercepted a tempo in Mehrauli during routine patrolling and found 63 boxes of illicit liquor loaded inside the vehicle. The driver, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, was apprehended on the spot and the vehicle was seized.

During interrogation, Akhilesh disclosed that he used to transport liquor consignments to railway parcel booking points in Delhi on the instructions of Upender Singh and his son Ankit Singh in exchange for money.

Based on his disclosure, police conducted raids at the residence of the father-son duo in Rajpur Khurd and recovered 11 more boxes of illicit liquor. Both accused were arrested on the spot.

''A team later found that the syndicate procured liquor from suppliers based in Gurugram and transported it to Bengaluru through railway parcel services by disguising the consignments as commercial goods, including LED televisions and electronic items,'' the officer said.

Police said another six boxes of liquor were recovered from an Innova car linked to the accused.

Subsequently, a team of Delhi Police was sent to Bengaluru, where 74 additional boxes containing around 1,118 liquor bottles were recovered from a train at Yeshwantpur Railway Station in a coordinated operation with local authorities.

The network had allegedly been using the concealment and transportation model for nearly one-and-a-half years to avoid detection, the police said.

Further investigation into the interstate supply chain, financial transactions and involvement of other syndicate members is underway, police added.