Spirit mafia: Excise department on the right track

KOCHI: The excise department is on the verge of netting a few big fish controlling the Rs 2,000-crore illegal spirit market in the state following leads provided by Aneesh alias Maradu Aneesh, the notorious criminal who was nabbed by the Tamil Nadu police in connection with the murder of real estate agent Imtiaz Khan.
According to official sources in the excise department, they have inputs on people for whom the spirit mafia is operating in the state.Investigators are hoping to book the accused soon.
"Aneesh has revealed a few names involved in the illegal spirit trade and we are crosschecking the details. As per our assessment, we need to arrest one more person for getting the complete picture and evidences on the bigwigs," officials said.
Though excise officials are diligently following leads and collecting evidence, there are rumours that pressure is mounting on them to go soft on the investigation.
It is learnt that the government does not want to land in trouble as they already are on the hot seat following the solar scam.
"We are not under any pressure. So far, the probe is in the right direction," claimed a senior official, refuting such rumours.
Aneesh has been the mainstay of the spirit lobby since he controlled the delivery of spirit consignments to buyers in the state. While excise officials were aware of his activities, it was the seizure of 8,500 litres of spirit from three vehicles parked near Aluva on August 5, 2011 that helped the department make a case against him. Following the incident, the department had issued a lookout notice against Aneesh.
The officials are hoping for a major breakthrough in spirit cases with the arrest of another kingpin identified as Sileesh (28) of Aluva on Tuesday.