Manpur: Police seized 800 boxes of liquor valued at Rs 50.28 lakh from a truck in Chhattisgarh’s Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district when the consignment was allegedly being smuggled to neighbouring Maharashtra, officials said on Sunday, June 7.

The consignment was intended to be illegally distributed in villages near the border of Maharashtra‘s Gadchiroli district, where liquor outlets are unavailable, they said.

After the truck was intercepted on Saturday, the driver allegedly attempted to flee on seeing the police, but they chased and apprehended him, Senior Superintendent of Police YP Singh said.

The police had received information that a white truck registered in Ambikapur was transporting a large quantity of illicit liquor towards the Maharashtra border via Ambagarh Chowki, Mohla, Manpur and Aundhi area.

Following the input, a mobile check-post was set up near the SDM (sub-divisional magistrate) office. The police subsequently stopped the truck near the SDM office in Manpur for inspection, he said.

A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of around 800 boxes of illegal Indian-made foreign liquor, including whisky and beer, valued at Rs 50.28 lakh, the official said.

During questioning, the driver, identified as Balram Singh Dangi, a resident of Nagpur in Maharashtra, told police that the consignment was loaded from the Multai area of Betul district in Madhya Pradesh and was being transported towards the Maharashtra border.

The accused further claimed that the liquor was to be unloaded in Maharashtra with the help of a person identified as Shailesh, the official said.

The driver has been arrested. Further investigation is underway to identify others involved and unearth the smuggling network, the police said.