Kerala - Alappuzha   

Spurious toddy seized

ALAPPUZHA: Sending a strong warning to the Central Travancore liquor lobby, Inspector-General of Police (Crimes) Rishi Raj Singh led a pre-dawn swoop on godowns manufacturing and storing spurious toddy in the southern part of the district on Thursday.

The crackdown, which was the first mission of the recently constituted Inter-State Illicit Spirit Movement Investigation team led by Mr. Singh, led to a haul of 15,000 litres of spurious toddy from two godowns attached to toddy shops there.

While the first raid, conducted at 3.30 a.m. at the T.S.No.7 toddy shop’s godown at Padanilam near Nooranad, resulted in the seizure of around 4,000 litres of the illicit brew, the 4.30 a.m. operation at the T.S. No.26 toddy shop’s godown at Muttom near Haripad led to the seizure of 12,000 litres of spurious toddy.

Five vehicles, suspected to be used for ferrying the brew, were seized by the team and handed over to the Kariyilakulangara police station.

Mr. Singh directed the police to seal the two godowns and seize the toddy along with instruments and ingredients that were used to blend the concoction. Samples of the toddy were sent to Thiruvananthapuram for analysis. Cases were registered against the shop licensees.

Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Singh said hazardous chemicals and drugs including diazepam were being used to manufacture spurious toddy, which could create addiction and also lead to death due to over-consumption. The special investigation team, he said, received “thousands of tip-offs” on the operation of the illicit spirit and toddy lobby in the State.

“Since the maximum number of complaints and tip-offs were from this region, we decided to start from here. The Intelligence Department is preparing a list based on the information that we are getting and such raids will continue across the State,” he said.

“We have got the maximum number of information on the spirit lobby from Kayamkulam, Ambalapuzha, Kollam, Mavelikara and Nooranad,” Mr. Singh said, hinting that the team is determined to continue the raids and take action against those involved in the business, however big and influential they were.

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Spurious toddy seized

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