Illicit liquor, ganja seized in separate cases

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Excise officials under Neyyatinkara Circle on Friday seized nine litres of illicit liquor and 1kg of ganja in two separate cases. The officials have also arrested one person each in connection with the two cases.
According to officials, the catches were made during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

The spurious liquor was seized from a two-member-gang. While the officials nabbed one of them, the other managed to flee.

The officials identified the arrested as Rajesh alias Manikuttan (34) of Thalayil near Balaramapuram. He was caught by a team of excise officials led by Neyyatinkara excise circle inspector Y Shibu when the former arrived at Balaramapuram with five litres of illicit liquor with an intend to sell it.

“We had specific intelligence information about his activities and hence we were monitoring him,” Shibu said. After being caught, Rajesh said that it was his friend Sathosh alias Pichathi Santhosh, who brewed the liquor in a rented house at Manaluvila, where they had set up a brewing unit. Santhosh, fled the house seeing the officials. In the house, the officials found 540 litres of wash. The two accused were involved in criminal cases in the past too. Rajesh was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody on Friday.

In the second case, a 20-year-old youth was arrested by Neyyatinkara excise range inspector U Shanavas and team at Neyyatinkara with 1.050kg ganja. The officials identified the accused as Vishnu of Aralummoodu. The officials also seized his motorcycle on which he roamed around selling ganja to school and college students as well as migrant labourers.

Shanavas said that the accused was caught during a random inspection by his team at Neyyatinkara and Balaramapuram regions. Vishnu was also involved in cases related to physical assault.

The accused was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.