In yet another action, exposing the apathy of the district excise department towards keeping a check on unregulated flow of booze in the region, sleuths of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate impounded a tempo which was caught ferrying Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in Vasai in an illegal manner.
Based on a tip-off, a crime detection team led by Police Inspector Chandrakant Sarode laid a trap and intercepted a suspicious looking tempo on the Sativali bridge road in Vasai on Saturday.
Upon checking the tempo, it was found to be carrying boxes of IMFL and beer worth more than Rs. 1.39 lakh. The driver and his accomplice were taken into custody after they failed to produce any license or permit to ferry the consignment.
The duo were booked under section 65 A (imports or exports or transports any intoxicant) of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act-1949. The primary reason for this practice of unregulated trading is said to be aimed at causing revenue losses to the state exchequer but the excise department has been maintaining that there was no question of tax evasion as all applicable duties are levied at source.
While it is a routine practice by the police to round-up bootleggers and transporters, action eludes suppliers, mostly local wine shop owners, in most of the cases.
The tempo has also been impounded as the Valiv police was conducting further investigations to identify the supplier.
