Container with 700 Boxes of Liquor Seized at Keri Checkpost
Stock Worth ₹10 Lakh, Suspected Fake Number Plate
Panaji: In a major late-night operation on Tuesday, the Goa Excise Department seized a container truck filled with liquor at the Keri border checkpost. The truck was found to be carrying 700 boxes of Indian-made liquor, with an estimated market value exceeding ₹10 lakh, as per departmental sources.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the liquor was manufactured in Sattari taluka and was being illegally transported to Karnataka. Although the vehicle bore a Goa registration number plate, officials suspect the plate to be fake and believe the vehicle is actually registered in Karnataka.
The excise officials have detained both the vehicle and its driver, and further interrogation is underway. Authorities suspect the involvement of an inter-state liquor smuggling racket and have intensified the investigation to trace its network.
It has been observed that liquor smuggling activities along Goa’s border areas have increased in recent months. In response, the Excise Department and Police are conducting rigorous patrols and inspections. Plans are in place to install CCTV surveillance and enforce stricter check mechanisms at state borders.
Key officials involved in this operation include Excise Inspector Bhola Harmalkar, Sub-Inspector Sushant Fadte, guards Jitendra Gawas, Sakharam Parab, Rajendra Naik, Pandurang Parab, and Kashinath Gawas, who played crucial roles in the successful seizure.
