On Thursday, 2 May 2024, the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) apprehended a couple involved in the manufacture and sale of fake liquor bottles in Vizag. The police confiscated 677 bottles of counterfeit Sterling Reserve whiskey bottles, 1065 bottles of liquid homoeopathic medicine, and 450 units of loose spurious liquor The detainees, L Sirisha (40) and L Susantha Patro (45), live in Pendurthi, but hail from Berhampur, in Odisha.
Acting on reliable intelligence, SEB units conducted a search operation at a residence in Pendurthi, said Commissioner of Police (CoP), A Ravi Shankar. He further stated, “Visakhapatnam Special Enforcement Bureau and the police have seized 677 fake Sterling Reserve whiskey of 121.86 litres, 1065 homeopathic medicine liquid bottles of 479.25 litres and 450 loose spurious liquor. ” He explained that the active homoeopathic drugs being exploited to create the fake liquor included Belladonna, Carbo Vegetabilis, and Aspidosperma, all of which contain 90 per cent alcohol.
The investigation led them to another location at Kothavalasa Mandal in Vizianagaram, where the couple was discovered to be producing the illicit liquor. They reportedly got raw materials from Odisha. They would use one bottle of the medicine to concoct two bottles of liquor. The CoP revealed that the couple sourced the liquor bottles and labels from Hyderabad. To make the liquor appear genuine, they incorporated several additives, including food colouring. The counterfeit liquor was then distributed to unauthorized belt shops.
The CoP warned that consumption of such counterfeit liquor could have severe repercussions on the respiratory system and the heart. Only two people have been arrested in the case so far, and it is possible that more individuals may be brought to light from the supply chain.
The fake liquor sale bust succeeds another drug bust in Vizag on Wednesday, when the Chintapalle Police made an arrest in a case regarding the manufacture and smuggling of 53 kg of liquid ganja, or hash oil, worth over Rs 5 crore. The individual was apprehended in Alagam village, which is in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district.
Read also- Busted: 80 kg of Ganja Seized at Boyapalem Junction; 4 Arrested
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