PATNA, May 14 -- Bootleggers in dry Bihar have literally taken a leaf out of reel smugglers' methods to hoodwink the state police. They are using written codes on tejpatta (bay leaf) and currency notes to transport and deliver consignments to target groups, police officers said.

Police and excise department officials busted such a case in Muzaffarpur on Wednesday when liquor traffickers were caught using a Rs.1 currency note and a code scribed on a bay leaf to smuggle liquor in the area. Moreover, these runners were using homeopathic medicine bottles to transport the spirit.

The police-excise department team not only seized a huge quantity of spirit but also uncovered an illegal liquor manufacturing unit, said an official in the know. ...