Kerala   

Containers stolen from ports being used for spirit smuggling

G. Anand

Lorry carrying 16,820 litres seized; mafia's new modus operandi comes to light

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: International cargo containers stolen from seaports are being used to smuggle spirit into Kerala, according to the State police.

The spirit consignments transported in multi-axle container trucks are declared as "imported goods" to avoid detection at border check posts.

The relatively new method of operation came to light when the police intercepted a container lorry carrying 16,820 litres of spirit near the Secretariat on June 20.

The police found that the container used for the operation was stolen from the Kochi port on November 27, 2004. The spirit, which was sourced illegally from a distillery in Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, had been declared as "imported cashew" at the Aryankavu check post.

Two persons were arrested by the Kochi police in connection with the container theft (Harbour police crime: 174/2004). One of them was found to be an accused in an earlier case relating to the seizure of 13,000 litres of spirit from a container lorry purportedly transporting imported "San Francisco Apples", in Thampanoor in January 2003. The police now suspect that the container in the 2003 case could also be a stolen one.

Till June 31 this year, as many as 137 vehicles, including container lorries, were confiscated by the police for smuggling spirit. Most of the impounded vehicles were stolen ones with tampered chassis numbers and fake registration certificates, making it difficult for the police to trace the owners.

Nearly 1.4 lakh litres of illicit spirit was seized in Kerala during the period.

The spirit confiscated by State enforcement agencies is just a fraction of the quantity smuggled into Kerala annually from distilleries in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Lack of "operational intelligence" on the activities of the elusive "spirit mafia", and slack vigilance and corruption at border check posts are the major factors impeding anti-spirit smuggling operations, an official said.

There are 12 border check posts in Kerala. More than 22,000 passenger vehicles and 8,000 cargo vehicles enter the State daily through the check posts, according to the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre here.

Most of the check posts are located near areas that have several escape routes.

Hundred per cent checking of vehicles entering the State is impossible owing to lack of adequate check post staff.

A Government proposal for modernising check posts and strategically relocating some of them was yet to take off.

A police department suggestion to keep sniffer dogs trained in detecting spirit, explosives and narcotic substances at check posts was yet to materialise.

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