In one of the biggest crackdowns on liquor smuggling in Haryana, the police and the Excise Department on Tuesday raided a Gurugram liquor vend operating under the name Theka and recovered nearly 42,000 bottles of smuggled foreign alcohol.

The seized stock is estimated to be worth Rs 10 crore in the black market, and officials said it is the largest illegal consignment of foreign liquor ever recovered in the state.

Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (DETC) Amit Bhatia said the haul included high-end international brands retailing between Rs 5,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh per bottle, indicating the operation was backed by a well-organised smuggling network. “Upon inspecting the entire premises, we recovered 3,921 cartons of foreign liquor — each containing 6 to 12 bottles — along with 176 loose bottles. All stock has been seized. An FIR has been registered, and further investigation is underway,” he said.

Officials suspect the liquor was routed through airports using structured smuggling channels operating across Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. The bottles lacked the mandatory Haryana excise hologram, confirming the consignment was illegal.

The vend had been issued a liquor licence worth Rs 44 crore for the current excise year. Under rules, the premises now face sealing, licence cancellation and forfeiture of the deposited fee. The shop owner reportedly fled the spot soon after news of the raid broke.

Preliminary inquiries indicate that smugglers are increasingly using the cover of duty-free purchases, cross-border movement and online channels to push illegal alcohol into the state. Officials said the case underscores the need for tighter enforcement and inter-state coordination.