SMC busts liquor smuggling racket via sea-route in Gujarat’s Jafrabad, 4 arrested

The State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has busted an alleged liquor smuggling racket operating through sea routes in Gujarat’s coastal town of Amreli’s Jafrabad, seizing contraband and materials worth over ₹33 lakh, police said.

During a midnight raid near the Jafrabad Jetty area, the SMC team allegedly caught a group unloading foreign liquor from a boat and arrested four persons while launching a search for 11 others, including the alleged bootlegger involved in the operation.

Police said the raid exposed an alleged modus operandi in which smugglers used sea routes to transport liquor into Gujarat, considering highways increasingly risky because of tighter enforcement.

According to officials, the operation was carried out by a team led by Police Inspector R K Karamta after receiving information that a large quantity of foreign liquor was being brought into the state by boat through the Samakantha area near Jafrabad Jetty.

As the police team raided the spot, suspects allegedly attempted to flee, causing chaos at the site.

The police recovered 6,859 bottles of foreign liquor valued at approximately ₹22.75 lakh. Authorities also seized six vehicles worth around ₹10 lakh, seven mobile phones and cash allegedly linked to the smuggling operation, taking the total seizure value to ₹33.89 lakh.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the seized liquor had allegedly been manufactured by companies based in Daman and Nashik.

The arrested accused were identified as Prakash Babu Shiyal, a resident of Jafrabad allegedly linked to the consignment, boat driver Ramesh Ranshibhai Mer, labourer Kalulal Kamalchand Rawat and Vijay Bhupatbhai Baraiya.

Police said the four accused were later handed over to the local police station for further investigation.

A case has been registered against 15 persons, including the alleged sender of the liquor consignment from Daman, the owner of the boat Tamanna, identified as Ismail Abdullah Patelia, and several unidentified persons who allegedly escaped from the jetty area during the raid.

Efforts are under way to trace and arrest the remaining accused, police added.