Jamnagar, July 29 (IANS) The Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has seized Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer worth Rs 77.71 lakh during a prohibition raid in Jamnagar district, with the total value of the seized property, including other articles, estimated over Rs 1 crore.
Three people have been arrested while 13 others have been named as wanted in connection with the alleged liquor supply network.
The raid was carried out at an agricultural field in Sanosari village under Lalpur police station limits by a team led by Police Inspector P.P. Brahmbhatt of the State Monitoring Cell.
The operation followed directions issued by Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) G.S. Malik to intensify action against illegal liquor and gambling activities across the state.
Police said they recovered around 500 cartons of IMFL and beer containing 5,978 bottles, valued at Rs 77,71,400. Along with other seized articles, the total value of the confiscated property was put at Rs 1,00,85,530.
Those arrested have been identified as Nagabhai Dangar of Sanosari village in Jamnagar district, Hemat Dangar of Vanandevari Sim area in Lalpur taluka of Jamnagar, and Surajprakash Jat of Mirpura Charanoni Dhaniya in Jalore district of Rajasthan.
Police have also named 13 wanted accused. They include Govind Danga of Sanosari village, who is alleged to have procured the liquor consignment, Jitendransinh of Ashapura Colony in Jalore, who is alleged to have arranged its loading and dispatch, and Pavan Singh of Barmer district, who is alleged to be the principal source behind the consignment.
The owners of three seized vehicles and seven other persons have also been booked.
The accused have been booked under Sections 65(A)(E), 81, 83, 98(2) and 116(B) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, along with Sections 238, 336(3), 336(4) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The latest operation adds to a series of large liquor seizures by the State Monitoring Cell in Gujarat this year.
Earlier this month, the SMC seized IMFL and beer worth more than Rs 48.35 lakh in Kutch, with the total value of seized property reaching Rs 78.57 lakh.
In June, the agency confiscated IMFL worth more than Rs 1.49 crore on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad Expressway near Bibipura in Ahmedabad Rural, one of the largest prohibition hauls reported this year.
Another operation near Rajkot in June resulted in the seizure of IMFL worth over Rs 1.51 crore after officers intercepted a consignment on National Highway 27 near Bharudi Toll Plaza.
The State Monitoring Cell has also carried out several other prohibition raids across Gujarat in recent months, including operations in Kheda, Gandhinagar, Chhotaudepur, Banaskantha and Mehsana targeting alleged interstate liquor smuggling networks supplying prohibited liquor into the state.
–IANS
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