Illicit liquor racket: 4 accused sold chemical to 250 toddy stalls

MUMBAI: The four people, who were arrested after a raid on a warehouse in Aarey Colony in Goregaon (East) on May 1, told police that they had supplied chloral hydrate to around 250 toddy stalls and liquor shops in the city.

The chemical is a sedative and is used to make spurious liquor. The accused — Buniyad Ansari, Venkaya Karbuja, Rajendra Busrupa and Prakash Gopwani — would smuggle it from a Nashik factory. Police had raided the factory and arrested its owner, Dilip Jadhav, on May 10. In the raids conducted in Aarey and Nashik, police had seized more than 5,600kg of chloral hydrate worth ₹1.14 crore. Police said that some of the stalls, which bought the chemical from the accused, did not have the license to run the stalls and were running an underground toddy market.

Daya Nayak, police inspector, Khar police station, said, “The accused are in police custody. We will be arresting more people based on their interrogation. We are also looking for other suppliers who could have sold the chemical to those who ran the warehouse in Aarey.” Police are now investigating the names of the toddy stall owners who bought the sedative from the accused.

Meanwhile, excise department officials said they will come up with stricter measures to address the issue of spurious liquor. “We will chalk out a strict plan to curb the issue of adulteration in toddy,” said Prajakta Verma Lavangare, commissioner, state excise department.