‘Foreign’ brand on the bottle, but ‘local’ liquor inside;

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

A racket involving the smuggling of low-quality liquor from Goa and selling it as premium foreign brands in Maharashtra has been exposed. The State Excise Department arrested Somnath Bhaninath Jagtap (33, resident of Phulambri) and seized a stock of liquor, empty bottles, and bottle caps, informed superintendent Abhinav Belure.

Jagtap, a hotel operator from Adgaon Budruk in Phulambri tehsil, was allegedly selling counterfeit liquor in several hotels across the city and district. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by superintendent Belure and deputy superintendent Gunaji Kshirsagar, along with Inspectors A. T. Bidkar, V. G. Salunke, A. P. Tanpure, Anand Shendarkar, Ganesh Nagve, and Pravin Puri, detained Jagtap from his residence.

During interrogation, Jagtap confessed to carrying out the operation with liquor smuggler Jabbar Shaikh from Nillod in Sillod tehsil. A case has been registered and Jagtap has been arrested, while Shaikh is currently absconding. The operation was carried out by personnel including Amit Navgire, Rahul Bankar, Krishna Patil, and P. M. Sure.

Smuggling through forest routes to avoid checkposts

Liquor from Goa is prohibited for sale in Maharashtra. Jagtap and Shaikh allegedly sourced cheap, low-quality local liquor from Goa and smuggled it into the Marathwada region through illegal routes, bypassing checkposts via forest paths. For several months, they reportedly supplied liquor based on orders from bars and hotels in the city and district.

Check the brand before you ‘cheers’

The gang would refill expensive branded bottles with cheap liquor from Goa. They procured empty bottles and caps from bars, refilled them, sealed them, and supplied them again to bar and dhaba operators. This has raised serious concerns about which establishments may be selling such adulterated and counterfeit liquor.

From Jagtap’s house, officials seized 330 bottles (225 litres) of liquor from Goa, 1,100 new caps of various brands, and 70 empty 180 ml bottles. However, co-accused Jabbar Shaikh fled after Jagtap’s arrest. Both have previous cases related to liquor smuggling. Inspector N. R. Munjal is conducting further investigation.