4 pilfering whiskey from tankers held

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 3

Acting on a tip off, the Punjab Police along with Excise Department today arrested four persons and confiscated two tankers containing 42,000 litres of 3-year-old blended grain scotch whiskey worth Rs 2 crore here.

According to authorities, the liquor imported from Amsterdam, Netherlands, was being transported from a Mumbai dry port and was destined for M/s United Spirits Limited at Khasa distillery here.

Those arrested included Dharminder Singh, Chamkaur Singh and Manohar Singh, all residents of Tarn Taran, and Sarvan Singh of Sue Wali Havelian at Sanghna village of Amritsar district.

The suspects were pilfering the whiskey in smaller drums from the tankers. Their fifth accomplice, Gursharan Singh of Sanghna village, fled the scene.

A case under the Excise Act and the IPC, including fraud and criminal conspiracy, has been registered against them.

The police said the seized liquor was ordered by United Spirits Limited from a foreign consignor — Diageo Brands BV — at Amsterdam and was imported from the Nhava Sheva dry port.

Investigations suggested the accused were hired by a Haryana-based contractor, Satish, alias Tau, working for a transport company. They were to pilfer the liquor in 200 litre drums, which would be further sold at Rs 10,000 per drum.

After dilution, it would have been sold to liquor smugglers. They had planned to pilfer three drums of alcohol, while transporting the remaining to the Khasa distillery. Sarwan had pilfered two such drums on December 21-22.

Further interrogation and forensic examination were on to trace the linkages of the seized consignment to identify the sources of pilferage.

Was Meant for asr distillery

• Liquor imported from the Netherlands was being transported from a Mumbai dry port to Khasa distillery in Amritsar
• Suspects, hired by a Haryana-based contractor, were pilfering whiskey in smaller drums from two tankers