Excise dept busts racket involved in supplying illegal country-made liquor from Athagarh to Bhubaneswar slums

The Excise Department in Bhubaneswar on Saturday seized a significant consignment of illicitly produced country-made liquor.

Originating from the Athagarh Badamba region in Cuttack, the illegal country-made liquor was being widely distributed across various slum areas in Bhubaneswar, prompting a heightened response from the authorities.

In a carefully coordinated operation over the past two weeks, officials from the Bhubaneswar Excise Department seized approximately 800 litres of the illegal liquor, along with confiscating two high-end vehicles purportedly instrumental in transporting the liquor. 

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Acting on a reliable intelligence tip-off earlier today, the department executed a swift raid targeting the distribution vehicles.

“Today, we launched a special drive which has been conducted since December. Earlier, we had seized a car transporting country-made liquor from Athagarh-Baramba. Today, we intercepted another vehicle and seized 550 litres of liquor when it was being supplied to Kargil slum area in Bhubaneswar,” said a senior Excise department official.

The official further informed that the liquor mafia are now supplying country-made liquor to various slums in Bhubaneswar. Earlier, a liquor manufacturing unit was busted in Salia Sahi in Bhubaneswar.

This operation culminated in the arrest of three individuals believed to be key to the illicit trade network. The Excise Department has reiterated its commitment to clamping down on such illegal activities and ensuring unauthorised liquor distribution is effectively curtailed.

Authorities continue their investigation to dismantle the broader network facilitating this unlawful liquor trade.