Moga liquor contractors face losses due to smuggling

Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, October 27

Liquor smuggling is high in Moga district. As many as 200 cases have been registered by the police under the Excise Act in the current year at various police stations.

Liquor contractors said that due to the rise in smuggling in the current fiscal year, they were running into huge losses.

The Excise Department has hardly made any effort to curb the illegal sale of liquor, they alleged.

On October 26, the police seized 30 bottles of illegally smuggled country made liquor at Kussa village and arrested a person.

On October 25, the local police seized 20 bottles of illegally smuggled liquor at Dharamkot town and arrested two persons.

On October 24, 18 bottles of smuggled liquor was seized from a person and 16 bottles of vodka were seized from another person at Baghapurana town in two separate incidents.

Two persons were arrested the same day from a ‘dhaba’ in Ajitwal for illegally serving liquor to customers without valid permission from the Excise Department.

On October 23, the local police seized two canters loaded with illegally smuggled country made liquor worth Rs 30 lakh from the outskirts of Moga city.

A driver was arrested while the kingpin of the liquor mafia is still at large.

Sunny Gill, a liquor contractor, said that he was facing huge losses due to smuggling and illegal sale of liquor in Moga city and its adjoining areas. On an average, the contractors were losing Rs 5 lakh a day.

SSP Sneh Deep Sharma claimed that the police were regularly checking all suspicious vehicles entering the district headquarters. The police have also increased night patrolling across the district including rural areas.

Against the 200 cases registered by the police this year, the Excise and Taxation Department has hardly made any efforts to curb liquor smuggling. It has pursued only 10 cases which include issuing challans to few liquor vends.

The high rate of liquor at government authorised vends has increased smuggling in this area. The rate of liquor in the nearby districts — Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Barnala, Faridkot and Ludhiana — is much less than in Moga district.