Maharashtra: Illegal country liquor bottling plant busted

AURANGABAD: The state excise department raided a defunct ginning and pressing mill in Beed district and unearthed an illegal country liquor manufacturing unit.
State excise superintendent Nitin Ghule told TOI, “We have busted a country liquor unit, which we suspect was fully operational and was pumping innumerable bottles of hooch in the open market.” He said such illegal liquor units not only cause loss to the state exchequer but also pose a serious threat to the life of consumers.
Articles worth about Rs 25 lakh have been seized from the mill, while a manhunt has been launched for the individuals suspected of running the racket.
Superintendent of police R Raja said, “The joint action is the outcome of the police and state excise department taking steps to crack down on these illicit businesses.”
He said that directives have been issued to scan all the previous criminal records of those associated with the unit busted on Thursday.
Following the raid, an offence has been registered at the Beed rural police station against one Rohit Chavan, who was booked six months ago for being involved in similar activities.
State excise authorities collected some samples from the seized stock to get them examined at the lab. “Suspects use spirit and add some essence to it, before packing the same in bottles, pasting stickers and selling them in the open market along with genuine liquor,” said assistant police inspector Yogesh Ubale.
The seized articles include four brands of country liquor. These are the most consumed brands of liquor in the state.