2 cops among 4 held in duty-free liquor smuggling

Hyderabad: Four individuals, including two policemen, were arrested by enforcement wing of the prohibition & excise department for allegedly running a racket involving the illegal sale of duty-free liquor bottles purchased at stores inside Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA).The arrested are — RGIA police station constable M Gemya Naik, home guard Bandari Lingaiah, software professional Harish Kumar, and Raghavendra Rao, a manager at a hotel in Gachibowli. Meanwhile, Maheshwar, an employee of a duty-free shop, remains at large. Officials also seized 41 duty-free liquor bottles, totalling 40 litres,worth 15 lakh.Gemya and Lingaiah were assigned to the protocol wing at RGIA, while the latter has been working there there for five years, the former has been working at the RGIA outpost for two years. The accused allegedly befriended regular international passengers, guiding them to duty-free shops wherein they would ask the passengers to show their boarding passes. The duo then collected the bottles from these passengers and resold it at higher prices.Following a tip-off, excise officials set up surveillance along the ORR in Shamshabad, where they apprehended Gemya and Harish. Several duty-free liquor bottles were also recovered. Upon learning that 16 bottles had already been delivered to Raghavendra in Gowlidoddi, cops traced him and seized additional bottles from him.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword.