Palghar, Maharashtra: In a significant crackdown on liquor smuggling, the Dahanu office of the State Excise Departmenthas seized foreign liquor worth ₹31.53 lakh in Palghar district. The operation, which took place in the Nareshwadi area on the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway, resulted in the seizure of 300 boxes of foreign liquor and an Eicher tempo used for transportation. However, the accused involved in the smuggling operation have absconded.
Palghar district, bordering the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, as well as the state of Gujarat, has become a hotspot for liquor smuggling. Smugglers often exploit the porous borders to transport illicit liquor, including counterfeit liquor from Diu-Daman and foreign brands, into Maharashtra, particularly Palghar.The Palghar and Dahanu divisions of the State Excise Department conduct joint patrols, but despite this, smugglers continue to bypass the heavily patrolled Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway. Instead, the smugglers continue to smuggle alcohol through the rural areas of Palghar district and Gujarat, reaching their first destinations in Palghar, Mumbai, and Thane in Maharashtra.
A flying squad was appointed under the leadership of State Excise Inspector Sunil Deshmukh of the Dahanu division and Inspector Arun Chavan of Palghar. The squad set up a trap in the Nareshwadi area on the Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway. Three hundred boxes of foreign liquor were being transported in an Eicher Tempo (number GJ-01CT 1948), hidden under cardboard sheets. The flying squad seized the tempo after taking action. The investigation revealed that the foreign liquor was being smuggled for sale in Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu, as well as in Palghar district, Thane, and Mumbai.
Although the Eicher Tempo and liquor worth Rs. 31,53,240 have been seized, the driver of the tempo has absconded. The operation was carried out under the guidance of State Excise Department Commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi, Joint Commissioner Prasad Surve, Divisional Commissioner Pradeep Pawar, Konkan Division Superintendent Sudhakar Kadam, and Palghar Deputy Superintendent B. N. Bhutkar. A case has been registered against the absconding accused, and further investigation is being conducted by State Excise Inspector Sunil Deshmukh from Dahanu.
