Two persons arrested for selling arrack

Kochi: Excise officials nabbed two men for allegedly selling arrack on the pretext of selling a soft drink, Kulukki Sarbath, to take advantage of the high demand for alcohol during Onam festivities.Officials seized 20 litres of suspected arrack from their vehicles and rented house. Also, 950 litres of ‘wash' and equipment used for making arrack were seized. Five gas cylinders and four pressure cookers, 700 plastic bottles for selling arrack, and bottle sealing materials were also seized. An autorickshaw, a car and two smartphones used for sale were also seized.The arrested were identified as Santhosh, 54, of Pookkattupady, and Kiran Kumar, 35, of Kakkanad. The accused were nabbed in a joint inspection conducted by state excise enforcement squad, excise intelligence and Ernakulam excise range.According to excise sources, the accused allegedly brewed arrack on a large scale by taking a house on rent at Thevakkal near Kakkanad. They used to burn spices to prevent the smell of arrack from going outside. The accused had let loose three dogs at the house where the brewing was done, and this delayed the operation, said a source. Enforcement assistant commissioner T N Sudheer said the special drive against drugs and illicit alcohol will be further intensified in the coming days.Ernakulam range inspector V Saji, inspector Ajayakumar T N, preventive officer N D Tomy, intelligence preventive officer N G Ajith Kumar, Ernakulam range preventive officer K R Sunil, and civil excise officers Raseena, Sajan, Unais and Karthik were part of the team.Officials said the accused used to take orders in advance to sell arrack. Santhosh had invested in the brewing while Kiran used to find customers. The accused have also named one Laibin of Mattancherry, who is known for such illicit brewing. He has also been arraigned as an accused, said an official.Investigation into the arrest of three persons, including a woman, accused of selling illicit liquor on the pretext of traditional medicines led officials to the arrack trading racket.