Patna: In a crackdown on illegal liquor trade, Belsar police station in Vaishali district uncovered a major smuggling operation in the early hours of Tuesday, recovering foreign liquor valued at approximately Rs25 lakh from a concealed compartment inside a truck.Police received information that a truck was parked for several hours at Nagma Hanuman Chowk. Belsar police station in charge Praveen Kumar rushed to the location along with his team around 2am on Tuesday and initiated a search of the vehicle.At first glance, the truck appeared to be carrying ordinary sacks of lime (chuna). However, owing to suspicion, the officers got the sacks removed, which revealed that a hidden cellar was constructed beneath the load.“Inside the concealed compartment there were 235 cartons of foreign liquor (2,033 litres), carefully stashed to evade detection. The estimated market value of the seized consignment stands at around Rs25 lakh,” Kumar said, adding that as the police team approached the truck, the driver and an accompanying smuggler fled, abandoning the vehicle.The SHO said authorities seized the truck and towed it to the police station for further examination. “Preliminary investigations indicate that the liquor originated from Punjab and entered Vaishali district via Muzaffarpur. Police are probing the intended delivery destination within Bihar and working to identify the gang or network orchestrating this interstate smuggling racket,” Kumar said.
