Liquor worth 2.06cr seized on NE-4 near Pungaam

Surat: In the first major seizure on National Expressway-4 (NE-4), Ankleshwar Rural police on Saturday night seized 33,636 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 2.06 crore near Pungaam bridge in Bharuch district. The consignment, sourced from Haryana, was allegedly being transported to Saurashtra-Kutch via Vasad toll plaza.Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Kushal Oza received a tip-off that a large liquor consignment would pass through the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. Acting on the information, a team led by Ankleshwar Rural police inspector D A Zala kept surveillance on NE-4. During checking, they intercepted a truck travelling from Surat towards Bharuch.On inspection, the truck was found loaded with rice bags. However, upon removing the sacks, police discovered 33,636 bottles of liquor concealed behind them. The entire stock was seized and the driver, Jesaram Meghwal (31), and cleaner, Mukesh Meghwal (28), both natives of Rajasthan, were arrested.During preliminary interrogation, the accused told police that the liquor-laden truck was handed over to them in Haryana and they were instructed to reach Vasad toll plaza in Gujarat. Instead of taking regular routes, they travelled through Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra before entering Gujarat via Tapi district and accessing NE-4 from Surat to avoid routine highway checks, as the newly operational expressway has limited checkpoints.Police said a person identified as Prakash Sharma had allegedly handed over the truck and directed them to use NE-4. The delivery location was to be communicated once they reached Vasad toll plaza, a key transit point for vehicles heading towards Saurashtra and Kutch.Police have launched an investigation to trace the Gujarat-based recipients and the wider liquor smuggling network. Officials added that driver Jesaram had earlier been caught in Dahod in a similar case. The batch and manufacturing details on the seized bottles had been erased to prevent tracing, police said.