Illicit liquor racket busted at residential colony in Greater Noida, 2 arrested

Two men were arrested late Thursday night for selling country-made liquor as premium liquor in Gautam Budh Nagar, police said on Friday. The accused, Atul (single name), and Nitin Kumar,were allegedly caught in the act of refilling bottles of branded Indian made foreign liquor with country-made liquor, police said. The accused were working in the first floor of a house in Sadopur, police said.

Police found nine half-bottles of Imperial Blue filled with country liquor, 90 tetra packs of Twin Tower (labelled for sale in Uttar Pradesh), and several empty bottles of Royal Stag, White and Blue, After Dark, and 8 PM Whisky, and more than a dozen varieties of fake and tampered liquor packaging.

“The operation is part of a district-wide drive to eliminate spurious liquor trade. The two accused were found selling country liquor in branded bottles, posing a serious health risk. The two admitted to operating this racket after shop-closing hours, targeting unsuspecting buyers by passing off low-cost country liquor as premium brands. Strict legal action is being taken,” said Gautam Budh Nagar excise officer Subodh Kumar.

The raid was conducted by a joint team of the Gautam Budh Nagar excise department and Badalpur police as part of an ongoing enforcement drive under the directives of the Uttar Pradesh government and excise commissioner Adarsh Singh.

An FIR has been registered against the two under Section 60 of the Uttar Pradesh Excise Act and Sections 319(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Badalpur police station. Two composite liquor shop licencees in Sadopur’s Jhal and Achheja have been served show cause notices due to their alleged involvement in the spurious liquor trade, and their licences have been suspended pending further inquiry, said officials.