In a second major haul of liquor bottles being illegally sold, the Prohibition Enforcement Wing in Virudhunagar seized 1,842 TASMAC liquor bottles from a lodge that earlier had FL3 licence to sell liquor.
Acting on a tip-off got by Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police M. Rajarajan, Deputy Superintendent of Police (PEW) Maheswari raided the lodge in Tiruthangal around 2.30 p.m.
The police found that the lodge was in illegal position of as many as 1,842 bottles of liquor bottles. The police also seized ₹5,220 from there.
The police arrested P. Sathish Kumar of Alamarathupattti Road in Tiruthangal, Nagaraj (23) and Suresh Kumar (24), and sent them to judicial custody. They are also on the lookout for the lodge owner.
PEW sources said that efforts were on to find out from where the liquor bottles had been diverted to the lodge.
“While the licence of the bar had expired in March 2017, bottles that were packed in subsequent months were found there,” a source said. PEW officials have sought the records of seized bottles from the Assistant Commissioner (Excise) and District Manager (TASMAC) to proceed further in the case.
It was only a few days back that the PEW team seized over 2,400 liquor bottles that were illegally stocked and sold from a place close to a TASMAC shop in Kariyapatti.
The supervisor of the TASMAC shop, who had supplied liquor bottles, was also arrested.