Racket smuggling extra neutral alcohol busted in Punjab

The Punjab Government on Friday claimed to have busted a racket involved in illegal trade of extra neutral alcohol (ENA), which is used to make illicit liquor.

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About 80,000 litres of ENA was seized from two Gujarat-registered tankers from near a dhaba in Kot Shamir, Bathinda, late Thursday night. Eight persons were arrested and two cars (a Toyota Etios and an Innova) were seized from the spot. 

Excise Minister Harpal Cheema said a joint operation conducted by the Special Operation Group (Excise) and the Excise Police led to the seizure of ENA or ethanol. He said the AAP government’s zero-tolerance policy against illicit liquor trade had yielded results, with a total of 1,70,000 litres of ENA seized since 2022.

Addressing a press conference here, Cheema said acting on credible information regarding a gang engaged in unlawful ethanol/spirit pilferage and storage, specialised teams conducted a meticulously planned raid. The operation culminated at Navraj Dhaba in Bathinda, where the gang was caught red-handed transporting ethanol/spirit in two Gujrat registered tankers (GJ06BV4926 and GJ06BV7626), each loaded with 40,000 litres.

He said the seized ethanol, which was originally loaded from VRV Hospitality Pvt Ltd in Chak Alia, Dinanagar, Gurdaspur, was en route to IOCL, Bathinda. He added that it was suspected that the consignment was meant for clandestine transportation to dry states, where liquor production and sale were prohibited, for illicit use. “If not seized, it could have been illicitly used to produce approximately 3,72,000 bottles of 50-degree PML, 2,47,000 bottles of 70-degree IMFL, or 1.04 lakh litres of sanitisers," said Cheema.

He said an FIR had been registered at the Sadar police station, Bathinda, under relevant legal acts that include provisions for life imprisonment for the convicted. He stressed a comprehensive investigation was currently underway to trace the entire network associated with this illegal operation.