Goa-made liquor worth Rs 17 lakh smuggled as ‘plastic scrap’ seized in Thane, driver arrested

State Excise authorities in Thane seized Goa-manufactured liquor worth Rs 17 lakh smuggled under the guise of recycled plastic scrap. A container truck was intercepted at Shilphata Circle, and one suspect was arrested with fake cargo invoices

Thane: Excise authorities on Friday seized Goa-manufactured liquor worth about Rs 17 lakh being smuggled into Maharashtra under the guise of transporting “recycled plastic scrap”, officials said.

The recovery was made after a flying squad of the department intercepted a container truck at Shilphata Circle in Thane district in the early hours.

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The haul comprised 403 boxes, including 393 boxes of country liquor and 10 boxes of foreign liquor, meant for sale only in Goa, they said.

To evade law enforcement, the smugglers had generated fake invoices falsely declaring the consignment as “recycled plastic scrap”. “The contraband is valued at Rs 17 lakh,” said Pravin Tambe, Superintendent, State Excise, Thane-1.

One suspect, identified as Noor-Mohazzam Mohammad-Anwar Siddiqui, has been arrested in connection with the crime, he said.