LUCKNOW, Aug. 6 -- Fake QR codes, counterfeit bottle caps, and forged brand labels were allegedly used by an interstate liquor racket to pass off spurious liquor as genuine and smuggled to Bihar, officials said on Thursday. The racket was uncovered during a joint operation by the excise department and Lucknow Police.

The raid led to the seizure of 1,370 bottles of suspected fake foreign liquor and the arrest of one accused, while investigators launched a wider probe to dismantle the network behind the operation.

Acting on a tip-off, the joint team raided a house in Sector-10 of Vrindavan Yojana under the PGI police station limits.

Officials arrested Anil Verma, a resident of Azad Nagar in Krishna Nagar, from the premises. During questi...