Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA: While 2-3 people fled in the cover of darkness, Canacona police seized a liquor-laden vehicle at Marle forests, effectively foiling the bids to smuggle liquor worth 67,000 rupees into Karnataka State late Tuesday night.
According to SDPO Canacona Tikam Singh Verma, 459 litres of liquor mostly consisting of IMFL worth over 67,000 rupees is seized and a vehicle used to transport this liquor consignment to Marle forests bordering Karnataka state is detained.
Police reportedly received a call at about 10.30 pm on Tuesday night that some activities are underway to smuggle liquor to Karnataka through the forest border in the Marle area of Poinguinim village.
When police reached Marle, nearby to the spot where Canacona police had recently confiscated liquor from three store-houses, noticed 2-3 persons fleeing in different directions leaving behind several liquor-bottles-filled bags in the vehicle. Police tried in vain, but could not trace or catch any persons who escaped leaving behind the liquor consignment and the vehicle.
“Police later accounted for the liquors as 459 litres valued at 67,000/- and seized the same and the vehicle. ‘It is a clear attempt to smuggle the liquor to the neighbouring Karnataka state, via the forest-covered border at Marle, through the dense forests on Goa-Karnataka border. Liquor is being smuggled on head-loads through the Marle forests,” informed Tikam Singh Verma.
According to Dy. SP Tikam Singh Verma, the confiscated liquor and the vehicle used to commit the offence will be handed over to the Canacona Excise department for further needfuls. The seized consignment contains 7 boxes of light horse whiskey (with each box having 36 bottles) and 10 boxes of special Coconut feni, each box contains 36 bottles amongst other types.
In view of Lok Sabha Polls-2024, Karnataka has intensified checking and literally every vehicle entering that State via Polem border is thoroughly checked and scrutinized at Majali checkpost by Karnataka sleuths, making it difficult to transport liquor by road to Karnataka State.
A month ago (15th Feb), Canacona police busted a racket of storing liquor in three different store-houses at Marle (in Poinguinim) which incidentally shares Goa’s border with neighbouring Karnataka through thick forests. Three of the Store-houses stocking different brand liquor consignments were raided and stocks worth over 9.74 lakhs of rupees were confiscated by police, and have detained 8 people including 4 persons caught carrying head-loads in the act of illegal transportation of liquor on-head to Karnataka were rounded –up. Marle, which has limited habitation and is mostly engaged in agriculture activities, especially paddy cultivation is part of reserved forests and comes under Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary.
Marle shares Goa’s border as the nearest, just 500 metres away but through the pathway curved through the dense forests to Karnataka, and it is believed, this route is clandestinely used by liquor smugglers to transport liquor illegally into Karnataka State.
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