Jeypore (Koraput): Excise officials on Monday busted a fake foreign liquor manufacturing unit at Bondaguda village under the Kotpad police station limits in Koraput district and seized spurious liquor and related materials worth around Rs 20 lakh.
The absconding accused have been identified as Amit Gupta and Pankaj Gupta, residents of Malchamal village along the Odisha–Chhattisgarh border. Both are natives of Chhattisgarh.
The raid was conducted as part of a special drive launched ahead of the New Year on the directions of Excise Commissioner P. Anvesha Reddy to curb the manufacture and circulation of duplicate foreign liquor.
Acting on a specific tip-off, a team of excise officials from the Jeypore range reached the suspected location at Bondaguda village.
“Upon reaching the spot, officials found the premises locked. Following due legal procedure and after obtaining permission from the Executive Magistrate, the team conducted a search of the house and adjoining structures. During the operation, a large quantity of duplicate foreign liquor and materials used for bottling and labelling were recovered,” said Jeypore Range Inspector of Excise Sashikanta Datta.
He also stated that officials seized 18,420 bottles of fake foreign liquor of various brands, amounting to 1,545.36 litres. They also recovered 7,723 excise adhesive labels, 7,175 corks, 15,847 company label stickers, 6 kg of caramel, 7 litres of high-boiling (HB) spirit, 120 litres of blended spirit, three bottles of essence of different flavours, a sealing machine, four water containers, 22 buckets, and seven knives.
The accused managed to flee before the raid. Both are brothers and residents of Chhattisgarh.
“The total value of the seized liquor and materials is estimated to be around Rs 20 lakh. Efforts are underway to trace the absconding accused and identify their network,” he said.
Further investigation is underway.
