NEW DELHI, May 25 -- The Delhi Police has busted an inter-state liquor smuggling syndicate operating between Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru through trains, recovering illicit liquor worth nearly Rs 1.5 crore and arresting three alleged bootleggers involved in the racket.
The accused were identified as Akhilesh Kumar Singh (34), son of Kedar Singh and a resident of Paharganj; Upender Singh (45), son of Rameshwar Singh and a resident of Rajpur Khurd; and Ankit Singh (23), son of Upender Singh and also a resident of Rajpur Khurd.
According to police, the operation led to the recovery of 154 boxes of illicit liquor from Delhi and Bengaluru, along with the seizure of two vehicles allegedly used to transport the consignments. Police said the breakthrough came on May 18 when a patrol team from Mehrauli intercepted a tempo in the area and found 63 boxes of illicit liquor loaded inside.
During interrogation, the driver, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, allegedly revealed that he was transporting the liquor to Okhla Railway Station on the instructions of Upender Singh and Ankit Singh in exchange for money.
Acting on the information, police raided a house in Rajpur Khurd and recovered 11 additional boxes of liquor. The two accused were arrested from the spot. Another six boxes of illicit liquor were later recovered from an Innova car allegedly linked to the syndicate.
Investigators said the accused procured liquor from suppliers based in Gurugram and transported it through railway parcel services by concealing the consignments among commercial goods such as LED televisions and electronic items. The parcels were allegedly dispatched to Bengaluru under false declarations for illegal sale and distribution.
A police team was subsequently sent to Bengaluru, where 74 boxes containing around 1,118 bottles of liquor were recovered from a train at Yeshwantpur Railway Station.
Karnataka Excise officials were informed and a separate case was registered under the Karnataka Excise Act.
According to DCP South Delhi Anant Mittal, the syndicate had allegedly been operating through this method for nearly one-and-a-half years. However, no involvement of railway staff has been found so far.
Police said further investigation into the inter-state supply chain, financial transactions and other members of the syndicate is underway.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.