NEW DELHI: Seven months after camels were first spotted wandering the forests of south Delhi, they have surfaced again under the command of accused Vinod Bhadana, as unlikely carriers in an illicit liquor-smuggling racket.The animals were used to ferry contraband through dense forest trails from Faridabad into Delhi via Sangam Vihar, skirting checkpoints and slipping past state border surveillance. Police arrested the 48-year-old accused, a repeat offender, and seized 39 cartons (1,938 quarters) of illicit liquor along with two camels deployed in the operation.Acting on a tip-off, a police team on Monday laid a trap in the forest route area and caught Bhadana red-handed while he was transporting the consignment.Police said that with intensified checks in place on roads connecting Delhi and Faridabad, the accused turned to camels to navigate rugged forest terrain and bypass police pickets. He avoided main roads, choosing isolated forest stretches where the camels blended into the landscape, masking what was in reality an interstate smuggling run.DCP (south) Anant Mittal said, “This unconventional method was adopted to evade detection during intensified enforcement under Operation Kavach.”Bhadana was arrested in a similar case last Sept, when he and four of his associates were found smuggling liquor using three camels. He was previously released on Sept 18, 2025.The seized camels in both cases have been handed over to a govt animal welfare agency. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Delhi Excise Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act at the Neb Sarai police station.
