Excise Dept foils spirit lobby's plan targeting Christmas and New Year celebrations, 2600 litres of spirit seized

THRISSUR: The Excise Department has seized 2600 litres of spirit from Mannuthy which was smuggled into the state in a lorry. Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident. The arrested people are Palakkad Pallippuram native Hari and Thrissur Kurumbilavu native Pradeep. The spirit was smuggled in a highly secretive manner, packed in 79 cans and concealed in carton boxes with grapes crates on their top. The accused, Hari, had brought the lorry containing spirit from Bangalore and was handing it over to Pradeep when the Excise officials caught them.

Jineesh, who was with Pradeep, escaped by speeding away in his car in a reckless manner. The Excise has initiated an investigation by naming him as an accused. Through this operation, the Excise team has managed to foil the attempt of the spirit lobby to stockpile spirit for the production of spurious liquor ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The Excise team, led by Central Zone Commissioner Squad Inspector Hareesh CU and Thrissur Excise Range Inspector Sudhir KK, seized the spirit.