Maharashtra: Country-made liquor worth Rs 26.94 lakh seized in Thane; two held

The state excise department seized country-made liquor worth Rs 26.94 lakh and arrested two persons in Maharashtra`s Thane district, an official said on Saturday, reported the PTI.

According to the news agency, a flying squad of the state excise department intercepted a tempo in Kalyan town on Friday and recovered 48,400 bottles packed in cartons concealed under sanitary napkins, said Nilesh Sangde, superintendent of State Excise, Thane.

Sainath Nagesh Ramgirwar (27) and Amardeep Shantaram Fulzele (29), who were transporting the contraband, were arrested under the Prohibition Act, he said, as per the PTI.

The seized liquor is valued at Rs 26.94 lakh, and the tempo worth Rs 26.2 lakh was also impounded in the operation, the official said.

Meanwhile, a facility producing fake butter and selling it under a well-known brand name was raided by the authorities in the Thane district of Maharashtra. Two people have been taken into custody in connection with the illicit activity, one of them is the owner of the factory.

A facility producing fake butter and selling it under a well-known brand name was raided by the authorities in the Thane district of Maharashtra. Two people have been taken into custody in connection with the illicit activity, one of them is the owner of the factory.

A squad from the crime branch carried out the raid on Tuesday at a factory close to a structure that was still under construction in Khoni village in the Dombivli region after receiving a tip, reported PTI.

According to the report, based on preliminary investigations, the proprietor of the factory mixed additives such as food colour, salt, refined palm oil, vanaspati, and others to produce bogus butter. After that, these fake butter blocks were sold in the market wrapped in butter paper that had the name of a well-known company on it.

Falsely labelled as a genuine product, the fake butter was distributed to several establishments, including hotels, roadside cafes, and street vendors selling sandwiches, the report added. 

A total estimated worth of Rs 2,93,255 was taken by the police during the raid from machinery, manufacturing accessories, raw materials, and cartons with the popular brand`s emblem on them.

The owner of the factory and another person engaged in the illicit business were arrested by the crime branch from a village close to Dombivli.

An FIR has been filed against them per the relevant sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as well as the offences of defrauding, adulterating food or drink intended for sale, selling toxic food or drink, and having common intent, the report added.

(with PTI inputs)