The Gujarat State Monitoring Cell confiscated Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) valued at over Rs 1.51 crore and apprehended a truck driver near Bharudi Toll Plaza on National Highway 27 in Rajkot district. The operation, led by Police Sub-Inspector V.N. Jadeja and Inspector R.K. Karamata, took place close to Bharudi village in Gondal taluka.
A case has been filed at Gondal Taluka Police Station under the Gujarat Prohibition Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The seized consignment included 1,154 boxes with 41,580 bottles of IMFL, totaling Rs 1,51,29,600 in value.
The liquor allegedly originated from distilleries in Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Along with the liquor, authorities confiscated a truck worth Rs 30 lakh, a mobile phone valued at Rs 5,000, cash amounting to Rs 3,600, and other materials worth Rs 20,800, bringing the total estimated value of the seized items to Rs 1,81,59,000.
The arrested individual, Bhuraram Saran from Rajasthan’s Hodu village, was identified as the truck driver involved in transporting the liquor into Gujarat. Police have named four other suspects in connection with the case, including the alleged liquor supplier Khemaram Beniwal and truck owner Ramnivas alias Ramlal Multanaram, both from Rajasthan.
The seizure is one of the largest liquor confiscations in Gujarat recently, reflecting increased efforts to combat inter-state liquor smuggling into the prohibition state. In a separate incident, Ahmedabad Customs officials intercepted a boat off the Kolak coast in Valsad district, seizing 555 boxes containing 18,672 bottles of IMFL worth approximately Rs 50 lakh.
Eight individuals were detained in this operation, and the consignment was handed over to local authorities for further action under prohibition laws. Authorities suspect the liquor was smuggled from Daman into Gujarat.
Additionally, Sola police in Ahmedabad discovered liquor valued at Rs 54.1 lakh concealed beneath sacks of paddy husk in a truck intercepted near Vaishnodevi Bridge on SG Highway in May. The total worth of the seizure, including the vehicle, was estimated at Rs 64.3 lakh, and the truck driver from Rajasthan was arrested.
