Ahmedabad: Darkness, dense bushes, speeding SUVs and dramatic chases have become recurring themes in prohibition cases registered by police in Ahmedabad city and Gandhinagar. While officers have seized liquor consignments worth Rs 13.82 lakh in five major cases over the past two months, not a single accused was arrested.An analysis of FIRs registered between May and July revealed a strikingly similar pattern. Police recover large quantities of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), but the alleged bootleggers invariably manage to disappear before they can be apprehended.The explanations recorded in the FIRs are almost identical. Suspects are said to have fled under the cover of darkness, escaped through nearby bushes after abandoning their vehicles, or vanished before police reached vehicles parked with liquor inside.In moving vehicle cases, police describe high-speed pursuits ending with drivers abandoning the vehicles and fleeing on foot. In cases involving stationary vehicles, officers said they acted on specific tip-offs, located parked vehicles loaded with liquor, but found no occupants.One of the biggest recent seizures was made near Ranasan village in Gandhinagar district, where police recovered more than 2,600 bottles of liquor from an SUV. According to the FIR, the driver abandoned the vehicle near a canal during an SMC chase and escaped through bushes in the darkness.A day later, near Adalaj, police claimed an SUV river ignored repeated signals to stop, sped away, abandoned the vehicle with its engine running near Vaishnodevi Circle and fled before officers could catch him.On July 4 night, police alleged that a liquor-laden SUV being chased near Thol crashed into a divider, after which its two occupants escaped through bushes amid heavy rain and poor visibility.In another case, police recovered liquor from an abandoned hatchback parked near a bus stand in Thaltej, but found no trace of its owner.Across the five cases, the total value of liquor seized exceeded Rs 13.82 lakh, yet every FIR recorded that the accused escaped before they could be arrested.Police have maintained that investigations were under way to identify vehicle owners, establish the supply network and trace those responsible for transporting the liquor.A senior police officer said police often focus on seizures as such cases are considered “quality detections” and contribute to their detection record. “The accused may be arrested later based on vehicle registration numbers and evidence gathered during further investigation,” the officer said.
