Bengal bottling plant premixing colourless liquor for Bihar busted

KOLKATA: Since the Ni ti sh Kumar government declared Bi ha ra dry state, there have been efforts to smuggle alcohol into the state, but this one must rank high in innovativeness.

Bengal’ s Enforcement Branch (EB) officers unearthed in Howrah a packaged drinking water unit that used to bottle premixed colourless alcohol for consumption in Bihar. The bottles of one litre appear like normal packaged drinking water but contain premixed vodka, gin and white rum. Though only 200 bottles were seized int her aid on August 7, EB officers suspect that consignments were being sent to Bihar for quite some time.

The officials raided the unit suspecting it to be a fake packaged water manufacturing unit, and were surprised to find that it was actually bottling premixed alcohol for consumption in Bi h ar. It was aware house in the lanes of Golabari in Howrah town.

The suspicion of one of the officers was raised when he located the letters‘ V ’,‘ J’ and‘ W R’ in very small print at the bottom of the bottles.

“When he uncorked one and took a sip, the doubt was confirmed,” said an excise department officer. “After mixing, the bottles were sealed like original ones, which gave them the look of a regular packaged drinking water. Since vodka, gin and white rum are colourless drinks, it is impossible to identify them from normal bottled water,” said a state excise department officer.

Three workers of the unit were nabbed but the owner is on the run. The workers have told officers that the ready-to-drink alcohol bottles were meant for Bi h ar. Each one litre bottle contained 375ml gin, vodka or white rum with 625ml potable water.

“Each bottle was priced at three times the cost of 375ml liquor, one litre of mineral water and the associated costs like transportation cost,” the official said.