Hyderabad: Excise officials seized 163 bottles of illegal defence liquor in two separate raids in the Alwal area and arrested two women accused of selling the stock. The seized liquor was valued at around Rs 2.11 lakh in the market, according to officials.
The raids followed information about the sale of liquor procured through defence canteens at concessional prices. Sellers allegedly resold the bottles to local customers at higher rates. Accordingly, the Excise State Task Force and enforcement teams conducted joint operations in the area.
In the first operation, a team led by Malkajgiri Enforcement Assistant Commissioner Pradeep Rao searched a house in Saraswathi Nagar, Lothukunta. During the inspection, officials recovered 96 bottles of defence liquor allegedly stored for illegal sale.
The house belonged to Manyam Nagaprasanna and her husband Ram Anjaneyulu, a retired serviceman. Investigators found that Ram Anjaneyulu had procured liquor through his own canteen quota as well as the quotas of others. Meanwhile, his wife allegedly sold the bottles to local buyers from their residence.
Officials registered a case and arrested Nagaprasanna. They subsequently handed her over to the Alwal Excise Station.
Illegal defence liquor recovered in a second raid
In a separate operation, the Excise State Task Force conducted extensive checks in Soujanya Colony, New Bowenpally, within the Alwal Excise Station limits. A team led by State Task Force Inspector Ganapathi Reddy searched the house of Musimi Lenka, 39.
Officials recovered another 67 bottles of defence liquor allegedly stored for unauthorised sale. They took Lenka into custody and handed her over to Alwal Excise police.
The two raids resulted in the seizure of 163 bottles. Excise officials estimated the total market value at approximately Rs 2.11 lakh. Thus, the department said the operations had exposed two separate instances of alleged illegal sales in the area.
Excise officials warned that they would take strict action against anyone misusing defence canteen concessions for unauthorised liquor sales. They also made clear that those involved would face action regardless of their status.