Lid off organised gang with seizure of 6k litres of ENA

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, September 14

The seizure of 6,000 litres of extra neutral alcohol (ENA) by a team of the Excise Department near Rajpura last night has blown the lid off an organised gang involved in stealing this purest form of alcohol.

Information gathered by The Tribune reveals that a gang of ENA thieves is working in collusion with the drivers of tankers, carrying this base alcohol from distilling units to the bottling plants.

At various dhabas along the national highways, wherever the drivers stop for a meal or rest, the gang has been stealing up to 500 litres of ENA by extracting it from one tanker and replacing it with water.

The ENA thus extracted is then stored in drums and kept in safe houses till a sizeable quantity is extracted. It is then sold to bootleggers or to paint/lacquer manufacturers, cosmetic and perfume manufacturers, etc. This stolen ENA is way cheaper than that obtained directly from distilleries, and this helps it get a ready market.

It is learnt that on an average 25 tankers of ENA having capacity upwards of 20,000 litres each legally enter or leave Punjab daily. This is a byproduct of the sugar industry and is sent from distilleries here to liquor bottling plants in other states, or brought from distilleries in other states to be used in bottling plants here.

“We are still investigating the case. But the modus operandi of stealing the alcohol from roadside eateries is clear. We had intel that ENA was being brought into Punjab and a team of officers intercepted a vehicle after trailing it from Shahabad near Ambala,” Punjab Excise Minister Harpal Cheema told The Tribune.

Interestingly, during the investigations the accused driver of the truck carrying the ENA has revealed that he was carrying it to a cracker manufacturer in Dhuri and another one in Ludhiana. “But we are yet to ascertain if ENA can be used in cracker manufacturing, considering that it is a spirit. Investigation on this front is still on,” said Excise and Taxation Commissioner Varun Roojam.

The modus operandi

• ENA thieves are working in collusion with drivers of tankers, carrying this base alcohol from distilling units to the bottling plants.
• The gang has been stealing up to 500 litres of ENA by extracting it from one tanker and replacing it with water.