Police concerned over increased liquor smuggling through NH47

Alappuzha, Kerala, Oct 8 (UNI) National Highway 47 (Salem-Nagercoil through Kerala) seems to be turning into a 'channel of liquor flow', if one goes by the recent accidents on the highway in this district and the subsequent seizure of foreign and countrymade liquor.

A senior police officer told UNI that the huge recovery of spirit from vehicles, including luxury cars, was a 'shocking development'.

While police carried out routine checking at some points, their operations were hampered by lack of sophisticated equipment such as x-ray machines to search for concealed liquor, he said.

He said the vehicles, coming from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, were suspected to be bringing a huge volume of liquor into Kerala.

In the series of accidents involving liquor-laden vehicles, the latest one was on October six when 4,410 litres of liquor were recovered from a lorry which had collided with a parked truck at Thottappally on NH 47. The lorry was bearing a Puducherry registration number.

In another accident on the night of October two, police found 89 bottles of foreign liquor in a car, which had collided with another car at Kalavoor on the highway. The passengers of the car escaped from the spot, despite suffering injuries.

Later, a police team from Alappuzha North police station seized the car. The car was bearing a Tamil Nadu registration number, which appeared to be fake, police said.

Two months ago, an excise squad had arrested two persons, travelling in a luxury car in which 35 jars of liquor were kept, at Cherthala on NH 47.

Meanwhile, the district Superintendent of Police had suspended two constables, including a woman, at Kayamkulam police station in connection with the theft of spirit, kept in the police station. The spirit had been seized during raids at various places. The action was taken on the basis of a report submitted by the circle inspector of Kayamkulam.

UNI