Illicit foreign liquor worth Rs 10 crore seized from vend in Gurugram

In what has rattled the excise authorities in the state, the largest-ever consignment of illicit foreign liquor was seized from a high-end liquor vend in Gurugram.

The excise authorities seized around 40,000 bottles, worth Rs 10 crore, which were without valid holograms, from a local vend named 'The Theka Wine Shop '.

According to information, the Excise Department team had received complaints that illicit liquor was being sold at ‘The Theka Wine Shop’ located near Signature Tower in Gurugram.

Acting on the same, the Gurugram Excise Department team reached the shop late evening on Tuesday and raided it during the rush hours. The officials claimed that they had suspected that a hundred illicit bottles would be found but the quantity seized left them shocked.

Gurugram Excise Officer Amit Bhatia said 3,900 cases of illicit foreign liquor (over 40,000 bottles) were found at The Theka Wine Shop.

This means that these liquor cases were smuggled here illegally. Following the discovery of such a large quantity of illicit liquor, the Excise Department has launched an internal investigation into how such a large quantity of such liquor reached a licensed shop and why the department failed to detect it in time.

Officials say that the wine shop operators had caused significant revenue losses to the Haryana government. It is possible that these wine shop operators may have been selling illicit liquor in this manner before, as the shop has been open for a long time.

Excise Officer Amit Bhatia stated that the liquor was seized from the spot. A complaint was filed with the Gurugram police and a case was registered against the wine shop operators. Following this, raids would now be conducted on all wine shops in Gurugram, he said.