Lid off illegal liquor factory at Lalru

Tribune News Service

Mohali, November 14

A team of the Excise and Taxation Department today unearthed an illegal liquor factory being run from a deserted industrial unit situated around 150 metres towards Chandigarh from the toll plaza at Lalru here.

The team seized a large quantity of material being used in manufacturing liquor and other paraphernalia from the place.

According to Gurchain Singh Dhanoa, AIG, Excise and Taxation Department, the team seized nearly 6,400 litres of blend, 1,600 litres of extra neutral alcohol, a large quantity of chemicals, empty drums, nearly 1,20,000 holograms, 1,25,479 labels of different brands, 4,800 cases, around 12,000 empty liquor bottles and a canter from there. “The labels were of different brands of country-made liquor. The brands included Miss India and Motta Santra,” said the official.

Besides, the team also noticed some fresh burnt material at the spot, which indicated that those running the factory may have got information about the raid.

“We saw small heaps of burnt material at some places in the factory. They might have burnt documents to conceal their identity and other things,” said a member of the raiding team.

  According to sources, the factory had proper machinery and other equipment to manufacture liquor. “The value of the paraphernalia must be over Rs 50 lakh,” said the sources.

The excise team found nobody inside the premises, which was locked from outside. “From outside, the premises seemed to be deserted. Doors were found locked, but when we entered it by breaking locks and scaling boundary walls, we were surprised to see a full-fledged liquor factory there,” said a member of the team.

Those running the factory might be manufacturing liquor at night, said the official.  “The identity of the persons running the factory is yet to be established. We got no clue in this regard during the raid,” said the official.

On a complaint of excise officials, the police registered a case in this regard at the Lalru police station. 

According to Dhanoa, the department has started a drive against the fake liquor business in the state on a big scale. “We had also unearthed a similar factory of fake liquor at Ghagga in Patiala district on October 30,” said Dhanoa.