Telangana: Excise department busts ‘whiskey ice cream racket’ in Hyderabad

In a bizarre incident, Hyderabad Excise Department has seized an ice cream parlour for selling whiskey-laced ice cream and arrested several individuals involved in the racket, police said on Friday.

The incident came to light when the Excise Department team raided Ariko Cafe Ice Cream Parlour on roads 1 and 5 in the Jubilee Hills area of the city.

During the raid the excise team has seized 23 pieces, totalling 11.5 kg of whisky ice cream, and registered a case against the accused's.

The parlour is being operated by Sharath Chandra Reddy, who was mixing 60 ml of whiskey into each kilogram of ice cream and selling it at high prices.

Other accused involved in the racket, identified as Dayakar Reddy and Shobhan, were also advertising their product on Facebook to attract more customers.

Further investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, the Excise Department also seized non-duty-paid liquor worth ₹3.85 lakhs at RTC Cross Roads in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Officials said that the accused, Gopal Agrawal, a resident of Attapur, had brought the liquor from Chandigarh in a vehicle. He was trying to sell it in Hyderabad at a higher price.

"The accused had purchased the liquor at ₹1.32 lakh in Chandigarh and was planning to sell it in Hyderabad for ₹4 lakh and trying to make a profit by selling the liquor at a higher price in Hyderabad," said the Excise Department in a press statement.