Punjab news: In a major operation against the illicit liquor trade, the Punjab excise department on Friday recovered and destroyed 1.45 lakh litres of 'lahan', which is used to produce country liquor, in Ludhiana. A spokesperson of the excise department said that on the directions of Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, four teams carried out a search operation to curb illegal distillation on the Sutlej riverbanks.
The search was conducted in areas around Bholewal, Jadid, Bhode, Talwann, Rajapur, Bhagia, Khaira Bet, Ucha Pind Dhagera, Bhundri, Majara Kalan, Sangowal, Meeuwal Gorisiaan, Hakamrai bet, Baghian and Burj villages of Ludhiana district. "Approximately 1,45,000 litres of lahan was recovered and destroyed on the spot... More than 18 temporary working stills and eight quintals of wood to be used was also destroyed on the spot and six big iron drums, two silver pots and three pipes were recovered," the spokesperson said.
Lahan is a raw material used for manufacturing country liquor. Separately, the excise department and the Patiala district police, in a joint operation, busted a module involved in the smuggling and selling of "extra neutral alcohol" in Punjab and neighbouring states. They seized a tanker carrying 35,000 litres of ENA, worth about Rs 3.5 crore, on Thursday. ENA is a raw material for liquor.
"It was found that the transporter of the tanker, which was meant for carrying ENA to the state of Goa, used to divert the tanker and pilfer some of the ENA at Rajpura and sell the rest of the consignment to the bottling plants of Chandigarh through a middleman who happens to be a liquor contractor," the spokesperson said.
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