Overview
- The seizure, which took place late Thursday night, involved a container truck stopped on the Indore bypass and produced conflicting estimates of the haul — roughly 500 boxes worth about Rs 70 lakh in some reports and “hundreds of cartons” valued near Rs 55 lakh in others.
- Officers impounded the vehicle after the driver failed to show valid transit permits for bottles that were marked for sale only in Chandigarh.
- Excise teams found the liquor was manufactured in Haryana and have detained the driver while questioning him and registering a case to trace the shipment’s source and handlers.
- Officials suspect the consignment was being diverted into illegal channels for delivery to Gujarat, where alcohol sales are banned, and they say smugglers commonly change drivers and routes to evade checks.
- Investigators will now focus on identifying the network, routes and intended recipients, and the action follows earlier large seizures in Indore that highlight ongoing challenges in policing interstate liquor smuggling.