Hyderabad, May 10: Secunderabad Excise District Task Force busted a liquor adulteration racket in Hyderabad that allegedly involved refilling costly imported liquor bottles with cheap spurious alcohol and selling them for huge profits.
Officials said the gang used premium liquor bottles, including Royal Salute bottles worth nearly Rs 25,000 each, to market the adulterated liquor.
The operation began after excise officials received intelligence about illegal liquor adulteration activities in the city.
Liquor bottles seized during raid
Acting on the tip off, task force officials intercepted two suspects near Rasoolpura Metro Station and seized six bottles labelled as Shivaji Regal premium liquor.
However, during inspection, officials found that the liquor inside the bottles had been replaced with low quality adulterated alcohol.
During questioning, the accused revealed details about the location where the racket was operating.
Subsequently, excise teams conducted raids at the identified premises and seized 41 full bottles of adulterated Shivaji Regal liquor.
Officials also recovered 63 premium liquor bottles of various brands that had allegedly been refilled with the fake liquor mixture.
Two arrested, one accused absconding
Excise officials identified the accused as Chikun Swain, Sonu Mahanti and Prapul Kumar Naik.
Among them, Swain and Mahanti were arrested, while Naik remains absconding.
Officials said further investigation is underway to identify possible distribution networks and determine whether more people are involved in the racket.
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