Surat: Drone busts hooch breweries thriving on Tapi riverbank

SURAT: Altogether six breweries of country liquor operating within a stretch of two and half kilometres on Tapi riverbank were busted on Friday after the police used drones to locate these nefarious businesses near Kholwad of Kamrej.
Following the Botad Hooch tragedy, the police are now adopting different strategies to keep vigil on illicit liquor business. These breweries in Kholwad were operating clandestinely despite cops’ attempts to curb bootlegging.
Cops checked the area to find the exact location of the breweries that remained invisible from outside owing to the dense vegetation. These were also unreachable due to the narrow access tracks and were known only to frequenters.
“These breweries are not easily visible from the road or from the river as well. These spots were covered in thickets along the riverbank and could be seen only from the top,” said a police officer.
Police destroyed around 600 litres of wash and seized 50 litres of country liquor. Operators of the breweries have escaped seeing the police movement. Police are working to identify the operators of the breweries and will be arrested soon, sources said.
“The drone was tested to see if it can help check a larger area quickly. If done manually, it would have taken many hours. But the drone could cover a wider area within minutes,” said the police.
After the first such attempt, the police will now carry out more checking in locations which are notorious for country liquor breweries in the past. Banks of rivers and rivulets are the favourite spots for bootleggers to set up a their business owing to these spots being located in isolated places.