Police have seized 918 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) estimated to cost Rs 5.10 lakh from two luxury SUVs following a raid near the Belsunda railway crossing on the Mahasamund Highway in Chhattisgarh.
The Monday late night operation led to the arrest of one of the bootleggers while the driver of another car escaped, the police said on Tuesday. Both vehicles were seized along with Rs 10,000.
Superintendent of Police Prafull Thakur said that the Fortuner car driver who was arrested has been identified as Jayant Banjare, 20, a resident of Bhilai.
"We are also trying to catch the other driver, Ashiq Khan. He will be arrested soon,” Thakur said.
During interrogation it was revealed that the consignment was to be delivered on the instructions of Parminder, a pub owner of Vaishali Nagar. However, investigation is on, the officer said.
Before the Covid-19 induced lockdown, bootleggers used public vehicles to smuggle liquor. This time they used SUVs, the police said.