Excise bust fake liquor unit in Angamaly, seize 1,248 litres of illicit spirit

Kochi: In a major crackdown ahead of the Onam festival, the Excise Ernakulam Division on Wednesday busted a clandestine illicit liquor bottling unit operating under the guise of a cement hollow bricks manufacturing facility in Angamaly.

The unit was functioning along the National Highway at Kothakulangara in Angamaly. The team from Excise Angamaly Range Office seized 1,248 litres of illicit spirit and arrested two men allegedly involved in transporting the contraband from Karnataka.

The operation was carried out by a team led by Angamaly Excise Inspector A Vipindas under the directions of Ernakulam Deputy Excise Commissioner Satheesh PK as part of 'Operation Thunder’, a special enforcement drive launched to curb the manufacture and sale of illicit liquor during the Onam season.

The arrested persons have been identified as Ratheesh, a resident of PJ Nivas, Chathannoor in Kollam, and Santhosh of Kakkanatt House, Cheriyapallamthuruth, Paravur. They were caught while unloading cans of spirit from a pickup van at the hollow bricks unit.

According to excise sources, the consignment had been transported from Hubballi in Karnataka. To evade detection during the journey, the spirit cans were concealed beneath sacks of rice husk inside the vehicle.

Officers said that surveillance in Angamaly had been intensified after intelligence inputs emerged from an earlier spirit seizure in Kodungallur, eventually leading investigators to the Kothakulangara unit.

Sources said that the hollow bricks manufacturing facility had been rented and operated by a man identified as Baiju, a native of Angamaly. However, he is yet to be arrested. The premises allegedly served as a front for an illicit liquor manufacturing and bottling operation intended to cater to increased demand during the Onam season.

During the search, the excise team discovered a room adjacent to the factory equipped with a manual bottling setup. Officers recovered measuring vessels, a large stock of empty plastic bottles and bottle caps, around 100 empty 500-ml plastic bottles, and A4-size sticker paper believed to have been intended for printing counterfeit liquor labels.

"This is a place where illicit liquor is made, where bottling is done. It was running under the cover of a hollow brick factory. The objective was to bring the spirit, fill it into small bottles, and conduct retail sales. We suspect they were planning to sell them in local bars or sell in black market,” an excise officer associated with the operation said.

The two arrested accused have been remanded. Excise officials also seized the CCTV hard disk from the premises to identify others involved in the racket.

“Right now, only the smugglers who brought it here from Hubballi have been caught. The rest of the people, including the property leaseholder, will be apprehended during the ongoing investigation,” the officer added.

The raid was carried out by Assistant Excise Inspectors Padmakumar, PK Biju, Suresh Babu, Renju Eldo Thomas and VS Shaiju; Preventive Officers Shibu and Rajesh; and Civil Excise Officers Ajeesh, Naufal, Salmanul Faris and Sajeesh.

Further investigation is underway to trace the wider network behind the illicit spirit racket and identify those involved in the manufacturing and distribution of the fake liquor.