Over 2,000 persons were arrested from different parts of Uttar Pradesh for their involvement in the illegal trade of spurious liquor. The police also seized 27252 litres of country liquor and 3300 litres of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) in the two day long drive on February 27 and 28.
The drive was launched in the aftermath of hooch deaths in Varanasi and Ghaziabad last week and in view of the Holi festival, which was celebrated in the State on Monday.
Giving the details of the drive, the ADG ( Law and Order), Brij Lal told reporters here on Tuesday that apart from the seizure of country and Indian made foreign liquor, 106 litres of beer, 110 kilogram of cannabis and 255 diazepam tablets were also seized in the police raids. Mr. Lal said 250 country liquor manufacturing units were also unearthed.
Fifteen country made pistols, 23 live cartridges, eight knives and eight vehicles were the other seizures made by the police, the ADG said.
Checking had been intensified in the districts bordering Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand following reports that liquor was being smuggled into Uttar Pradesh from the neighbouring states. Mr. Lal said 1965 cases were registered against the accused.
It was further ensured that the festival of Holi passed off peacefully. The drive had been launched at the behest of the Director General of Police, Karamveer Singh.
Meanwhile, nine persons were arrested in Deoria district on Monday for running the spurious liquor trade. According to the ADG ( Law and Order), the arrests were made in Koyarpatti village under the Tarkulwa police station area in Deoria district. About 157 bottles of illegal country liquor and 40 litres of hooch were seized by the police when the hideout of the accused in the village was raided by the security personnel.
