Illicit liquor unit in Kubernagar busted, stock worth ₹1.73 lakh seized

Acting on specific intelligence, the Local Crime Branch (LCB) Zone-4 of Ahmedabad city raided an illegal country liquor manufacturing unit operating in the Sardarnagar Post Office area of Kubernagar and seized illicit liquor, distilling wash and equipment collectively valued at ₹1.73 lakh, police said on Sunday.

The raid was carried out on January 18 at Silver Jyotni Chali in Kekadiwas, Kubernagar, as part of a sustained drive to crack down on prohibition-related offences.

The LCB Zone-4 team, led by Police Sub-Inspector S M Patel, swung into action after receiving precise inputs about a country liquor factory running in the area. Officers recovered 6,500 litres of raw wash used for distilling country liquor, 40 litres of illicit liquor and implements used in the manufacturing process.

The seized items included raw wash stored in plastic barrels, buckets and tin drums valued at ₹1.62 lakh, country liquor worth ₹8,000, along with iron cans, tin barrels, aluminium cans and two domestic gas cylinders, taking the total seizure to ₹1.73 lakh.

Three people were arrested in connection with the case. They were identified as Mankuvar alias Kali (56), a resident of Silver Jyotni Chali, Kubernagar; Ramkumar Patiram Katheria (27), a resident of Santoshinagar, Kubernagar, originally from Etawah district in Uttar Pradesh; and Ajaykumar Mahavir Singh Katheria (28), a resident of Chharanagar, Kubernagar, originally from Kannauj district in Uttar Pradesh.

Police said a case has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Prohibition Act, and further investigation is under way to ascertain the supply chain and possible links to a larger network.