Udupi: Four persons were arrested for allegedly smuggling liquor from Goa to Mangaluru without a valid permit during a police operation near the Hejamady toll plaza on National Highway-66 in Udupi district on Wednesday.
The four accused were identified as Vinay,47, of Kinnara village; Gajanan Mahabaleshwar Naik,45, of Nandgad; Sujith Talekere,25, of Amadahalli and Lawrence Thomas Mendonca,49, of Shirwada village in Karwar. Police seized 2,583 litres of liquor, valued at approximately Rs 14.4 lakh, along with a pickup vehicle worth an estimated Rs 5 lakh and a car valued at Rs 3 lakh. The total value of the seized items is estimated at Rs 22.4 lakh. A case has been registered at Padubidri police station under Sections 32, 34 and 38A of the Karnataka Excise Act and Section 336(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police said Vinay had previously been booked under the Excise Act at Chitakula police station, Karwar Rural police station and excise police station in Karwar. Acting on a tip-off received by Kaup circle inspector Ajmath Ali, Padubidri police intercepted a vehicle transporting the liquor and another vehicle allegedly escorting it near Hejamady in Kaup taluk. The operation was conducted under the guidance of Karkala ASP Ishita Gupta, and led by Kaup circle inspector Ajmath Ali G. The team included Padubidri police station sub-inspectors Shaktivelu E (law and order) and Anil Kumar T Naik (investigation), members of the crime detection team, and other police personnel from Kaup, Ajekar, cybercrime and Padubidri police stations, along with a member of the CDR unit.