Bhubaneswar: Excise department officials on Monday seized a large quantity of counterfeit liquor from a government-licensed store in Baramunda area of Bhubaneswar.
The raid, conducted by a team of Excise department sleuths, followed the discovery of discrepancies in the caps, holograms, and other features of liquor bottles during an earlier inspection.
The officials initially gathered samples and noticed differences between the bottles and authentic branded products.
Acting on this information, they first raided the residence of the shop’s staff, where they found counterfeit caps and excise labels. A subsequent raid at the store uncovered liquor bottles with the same fake features.
To verify authenticity, the department advised that QR codes on bottles should be scanned, which would reveal details like the serial number, brand, and quantity.
In addition to this raid, Excise officials have revealed that they plan to regularly collect and examine samples from liquor stores across the city to prevent such fraud.
The seized stock, valued at approximately ₹40 lakh was later destroyed by the Excise officials using a earth moving machine. The store is owned by a licensee from Jharkhand.
