Patna: The police recovered 7.41 lakh litres of illicit liquor worth Rs 60 crore in 2026 till Feb this year, which is 18% more than the previous year. A total of 37.75 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 293 crore were seized in 2025, marking 9% more seizures compared with 2024.Addressing a press conference at the police headquarters on Tuesday, additional director general of prohibition and excise Amit Kumar Jain said, “The state continued large-scale action under prohibition and anti-narcotics laws, while also restructuring its enforcement system to improve investigation, storage verification and destruction of seized contraband. Five liquor traffickers were arrested even outside Bihar and sent to jail till Feb 2026 as part of expanded inter-state operations. In 2024, eight liquor smugglers were arrested from outside the state and 76 were arrested in 2025.”In Sept 2025, the prohibition unit was separated from the Crime Investigation Department, Bihar, and narcotics and drug-related jurisdiction was separated from the Economic Offences Unit (EOU). These functions were then brought together under the newly formed Prohibition and State Narcotics Control Bureau, Bihar.The new bureau has been tasked with strengthening intelligence gathering, search and seizure procedures, case investigation and legal action under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Standard operating procedures were prepared and circulated to all districts covering intelligence collection, search, seizure lists, recovery, sampling of seized substances for testing, registration of cases, arrests and investigation.Responding to the recent hooch tragedy in Saran district where five persons died while four were admitted to hospital after consuming spurious liquor, Jain said, “An FIR was registered against ten named persons in the matter. Six of them have been arrested, including the main accused Suraj Mahto. He was shot at and injured after he fired on the police team late on March 15 night. The police teams are carrying out raids at suspected hideouts to nab the remaining accused.”He added that samples of the seized liquor were sent for testing. The laboratory report revealed the presence of methyl alcohol, a lethal chemical that can cause loss of eyesight and death due to organ failure.“Taking action, the administration has registered two separate cases at Mashrakh police station and two at Patepur police station in Saran district,” he said.The ADG said that out of the five deceased, post-mortem examinations of two have been conducted, while the bodies of the other three have been handed over to their families after completing the required procedures.
