554 litres of Indian made foreign liquor seized per hour last year

AHMEDABAD : Believe it or not, the dry state of Gujarat reported seizure of 41.40 lakh litres of Indian made foreign liquor and 7 lakh litres of beer in 2017, which comes to 11,345 and 1,942 litres daily and collectively 554 litres per hour.
The data was tabled in the state legislative assembly for four cities and 29 districts by the government of Gujarat. As per the figures, in 2016 and 2017, Gujarat Police seized Indian made foreign liquor and country-made liquor worth Rs 166 crore.

While the figure indicates retail price of the liquor sold in official permit shops, in the illegal market run by bootleggers, the prices are estimated to be two to three times higher.

As compared to 2016, the seizure in 2017 rose by 16% — attributed to the fact that ahead of the state assembly elections, the state police conducted sustained drive against illegal flow of IMFL in the state, coming primarily from states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.

Top five districts reporting high seizures of IMFL in 2017 included Valsad, Dahod, Gir Somnath, Surat Rural and Navsari. Among the cities, Surat topped the chart followed by Vadodara and Ahmedabad. “Gujarat is frequently on top when it comes to seizure of IMFL across the country. Regular drives take place on liquor dens whereas legal action including invoking PASA provisions against habitual offenders is taken.

In the run-up to state elections, IMFL worth over Rs 14 crore was seized,” said a senior state police official, adding that the new amendments in prohibition laws have provision for severe punishment.

However, the major inflow is also seen by many as the indicator of a large illegal consumption base in Gujarat.

Bootleggers over the years have also got ingenious – right from using vehicles with ‘Police’ written on it to secret cavities made in transport trucks to ferry large stash of liquor in different parts of the state.