India News | 25,000 Litres of ENA Seized by Punjab Excise Dept, Police

Chandigarh, Dec 29 (PTI) In a joint operation, the Punjab excise department and police seized 25,000 litres of extra neutral alcohol -- raw material used to manufacture liquor -- smuggled into the state.

Naresh Dubey, Joint Excise Commissioner, Punjab on Wednesday said a team of police and excise department intercepted a tanker carrying 25,000 litres of extra neutral alcohol (ENA) at Lalru near interstate border on the intervening night of December 28 and December 29, according to an official release.

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The documents carried by the tanker driver and his accomplice were found to be fake, he said.

The illegal consignment was meant to be supplied to a bottling plant in Chandigarh and its liquor brands have been confiscated in large quantities, he added.

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The driver said the ENA was loaded from Chhattisgarh. Further investigation was underway, he said.

Punjab Excise Commissioner Rajat Agarwal said in the wake of forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in the state, the excise department has stepped up vigil in all the districts.

Special patrolling is being done at the interstate borders and smuggling prone areas.

The entire chain of forward and backward linkages leading to disclosure of the main suppliers and recipients of ENA was being pursued, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)