Moga, January 25
A team of the Excise and Taxation Department recovered 150 cases (1,800 bottles) of liquor hidden in wheat husk laden on a tractor-trailer on the Kotkapura-Faridkot road this evening, said a senior official.
A special team of the department, led by excise inspectors Manjinder Singh and Manak Singh, intercepted the tractor-trailer and during inspection seized 140 cases (1,680 bottles) of whisky and 10 cases (120 bottles) of country-made liquor, both meant for sale in Haryana.
The officials took the driver, Gurdit Singh, alias Babbu, of Hassu village in Hisar (Haryana) into custody and later handed him over to the Faridkot police. An FIR under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act has been registered at the Faridkot (rural) police station.
Preliminary investigations suggested the liquor was smuggled from the Patti area in Taran Tarn district and was being transported via Moga district. The destination of the consignment was not immediately known, said the excise officials.
The possibility of the consignment being used during the Assembly elections had not been ruled out. The local police were trying to find out the intended recipient of the consignment.
Moga: 1,800 liquor bottles seized
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