SMC seizes liquor worth Rs 1.5cr in Rajkot district raid

Rajkot: In its second consecutive day of anti-liquor operations, the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) carried out a raid in Gondal taluka of Rajkot district, seizing a large consignment of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) worth more than Rs 1.51 crore. The operation was conducted near Bharudi village at the Bharudi Toll Plaza on National Highway 27, which connects Rajkot and Junagadh, following a tip-off received by the SMC team.

During the raid, officials intercepted a truck bearing a Rajasthan registration number and recovered a total of 41,580 bottles of liquor packed in 1,154 boxes. In addition to the liquor, the police also confiscated the truck itself, along with mobile phones, cash and other items, bringing the total value of seized goods to Rs 1.81 crore.

The truck driver, identified as Bhuraram Saran, was arrested on the spot and handed over to the Gondal taluka police.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the consignment was for Gujarat. Police have declared four additional accused wanted in connection with the case, including liquor supplier Khemaram Beniwal, truck owner Ramniwas alias Ramlal Multanaram, Sunil Multanaram and an unidentified individual who reportedly placed the liquor order using a foreign mobile number.

A case has been registered against all accused under multiple sections of the Prohibition Act as well as relevant sections of the BNS.