Ara: The prohibition and excise department seized around 8,000 litres of illicit Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), valued at nearly Rs 1 crore, from a truck in Bhojpur district on Saturday.Assistant commissioner (excise) Rajnish Kumar said the department had received information that a large consignment of liquor was being transported from Punjab to Muzaffarpur. Acting on the input, officials intercepted a 14-wheeler truck near Dalipur Mor on the Jagdishpur-Piro road and recovered 900 cartons of liquor concealed inside the vehicle.Kumar said the smugglers had adopted an unusual method to evade detection at checkposts. “Liquor cartons were surrounded by sacks filled with soil in an attempt to escape scanners installed at border checkposts. However, our team detected the consignment and seized it,” he said.The truck used for smuggling has been seized and its drivers arrested.Officials also recovered two cellphones from the accused. “The call detail records of the seized phones will be examined to identify other people involved in the smuggling network. The arrested persons are being interrogated,” Kumar said.The excise department is investigating the source and destination of the consignment and is expected to make further arrests based on leads emerging during the probe.
