Stationery shopowner held for selling country liquor in soft drink bottles | Bhubaneswar News – The Times of India

Bhubaneswar: Excise officers on Friday arrested the owner of a stationery store in Ghatikia area here on charges of selling country liquor packaged in soft drink bottles of popular brands. The deceptive practice was designed to evade detection, officers said.
The arrested shopkeeper was identified as Kartik Chandra Nandi (37). His associate, whose name was not disclosed, was detained for interrogation.
“We seized around 200 bottles of country liquor packed in soft drink bottles and kept in different baskets like any other soft drink. He was selling each 200 ml bottle for Rs 50,” an excise officer said, adding that the accused claimed he started the illegal business about two months ago.
The shopowner carefully resealed these bottles to make them appear authentic. He operated the illegal business by targeting local customers who were familiar with his setup. He sold the bottles only to known persons.
Excise officers said that Nandi established a network with local bootleggers who supplied him with country liquor regularly. He transferred the liquor into empty soft drink bottles, which he collected from scrap dealers and local waste pickers, sources said.
Excise officers are trying to trace the suppliers. “He named a few suspects whose details are being checked. We will try to find out the source of country liquor, bottling and mastermind of the racket. More arrests are likely,” he said.
On Thursday, city excise officers seized illegal country-made alcohol that was hidden inside pouches and stashed within polythene bags. A suspect detained for interrogation said he packaged the contraband liquor in the pouches to evade detection.