The Turbhe MIDC police have arrested the fourth accused in the alcohol smuggling racket that was busted in Navi Mumbai last month.
On July 10, the police had seized 1,596 boxes with 55,584 bottles of alcohol worth ₹1.14 crore from a container in a godown at Indira Nagar in Turbhe MIDC. The police had then arrested Mukesh Kumar Nandram Yadav (40), driver of the container and resident of Rajasthan; Sonu Ganeahlal Shrivastav (30), watchman of the godown and resident of Ganapatipada in Turbhe MIDC; and Ganpati Solanki, a resident of Badlapur.
On July 31, the police arrested Mr. Solanki’s partner Amar Goswami in Jaipur. Senior police inspector Amar Desai said, “Mr. Goswami was the owner of the container and the consignment belonged to Mahipal Singh, who is still at large. Earlier, three similar consignments of Mr. Singh were seized by the excise department and the police at the Gujarat border while being transported from Haryana. To evade arrest, they decided to enter Gujarat via Mumbai.”
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The police said Mr. Singh and Mr. Solanki hailed from Jaipur and were friends. Mr. Solanki made arrangements in Turbhe MIDC for storing the boxes, while Mr. Singh and Mr. Goswami followed the container bringing the consignment in a car along with some labourers.
Mr. Desai said, “The car went ahead to make sure the road was clear and no police officials were waiting for them,” Mr. Goswami was produced in court and has been remanded in police custody till August 5.