From using vegetable or fruit trucks to using milk containers and ambulances, it seems that smugglers are doing everything possible to sneak alcohol into the national capital and sell it through different mediums or channels at a three to fourfold profit, a senior police official said on Thursday, as the city has been under COVID-19 lockdown since late March.
With a ban on the sale of liquor in place and alcohol shops shut, police authorities in India's national capital have seized as many as 18,556 bottles of liquor during the last 15 days of the lockdown's first phase (1 to 15 April), official statistics from the Delhi Police have revealed.
"Since the lockdown, we have been keeping a close eye on the selling and transporting of alcohol illegally", the officer added.
As per police, 155 people have also been arrested in 147 cases under the Excise Act.
The data, released on Thursday, revealed that most cases were registered in the outer district of the city, which connects the national capital with Haryana state. As many as 27 people have been arrested, while 1,243 bottles were recovered from them, the data stated.
Officials stated that criminals are using essential services to smuggle alcohol, making it difficult to track them.
In some cases, the roles of several police personnel have also come to light, something which is being investigated at a different level.
Authorities believe that with only essential services allowed to be open, people have started procuring alcohol illegally.
