Valsad, April 17 (IANS) Customs officers in Gujarat’s Valsad district seized a large consignment of Indian-made liquor valued at nearly Rs 50 lakh after intercepting a suspected boat off the Kolak coast in Gujarat, officials said on Friday.
According to an official statement, officers of the Customs Division at Valsad under Ahmedabad Customs were conducting routine sea patrolling when they observed a suspicious vessel moving towards the shoreline.
The boat was intercepted near the Kolak sea coast in Valsad district.
On examination, officers discovered 555 boxes containing 18,672 bottles of Indian-made liquor, which was allegedly being smuggled from Daman into Gujarat in violation of the state’s prohibition laws.
As there is no customs duty applicable on Indian-made liquor, the seized consignment did not attract customs violations but fell under state prohibition enforcement.
“The goods, along with the boat and eight bootleggers, have been handed over to the Police Inspector at Pardi police station along with panchnama and inventory of the goods,” officials added.
All the boxes of liquor were transferred to Gujarat Police for further legal action.
Further investigation is under progress.
The seizure comes amid continued enforcement drives against illicit liquor trafficking in Gujarat, where prohibition has been in force for decades.
In recent months, several significant seizures have been reported across the state.
Earlier this week, the Surendranagar Local Crime Branch seized 11,220 bottles of liquor worth Rs 76.56 lakh from a truck near Sedla village, with the total value of seized property, including the vehicle, estimated at around Rs 1 crore.
In another case earlier this year, police in Dahod district intercepted two trucks carrying a combined 30,000 bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor worth Rs 1.92 crore during highway checks, leading to arrests of the drivers involved.
Separately, in Valsad district, police seized liquor worth Rs 19.73 lakh concealed in a transport vehicle, with total property valued at more than Rs 33 lakh in the case.
Officials have said that smugglers frequently use coastal routes, highways and concealed transport methods to move liquor into the state, prompting coordinated enforcement by customs, police and other agencies.
–IANS
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