Liquor worth ₹54L hidden under paddy husk sacks seized on Ahmedabad’s SG Highway

Ahmedabad: Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) hidden under sacks of paddy husk in a truck was seized on Monday near Vaishnodevi bridge on SG Highway. The liquor alone was worth Rs 54.1 lakh, while the value of the truck and other items took the collective value of the seizure to Rs 64.3 lakh, Sola police, who intercepted the vehicle, said. The truck’s driver, identified as Ramaram Jat, 39, of Rajasthan’s Barmer district was arrested.

According to the FIR lodged by assistant head constable Girish Jiva, the team was patrolling the area to check bootlegging and gambling activities. It received a tipoff around 8.10pm that a truck bearing a Rajasthan registration number transporting a large consignment of liquor would pass from SG Highway towards Sarkhej.

After arranging panch witnesses, police laid a trap near the Vaishnodevi bridge approach road opposite Nirma University and intercepted the truck. The driver claimed that the vehicle had sacks of paddy husk meant for delivery in Rajkot. Sacks in the bottom layers had cartons containing liquor bottles.

Police said the seized consignment included 8,640 bottles of whisky and 34,656 bottles of vodka, both labelled “For Sale in UT Chandigarh Only”.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly told police that a man identified as Kishan from Jodhpur had loaded the liquor consignment and instructed him to transport it to Rajkot.

Police registered a case under the Prohibition Act against the driver, the alleged supplier and others involved in the racket. Further investigation is underway to identify the intended recipients of the consignment in Gujarat.