Patna: Police in Bihar’s Samastipur district have uncovered a liquor smuggling operation after raiding a courier facility and seizing a large consignment hidden inside parcels.
The raid was carried out by the Mufussil police at a delivery service office, where the consignment had been booked under the guise of fish feed. Officials said an FIR has been registered against three individuals in connection with the case.
The shipment, intended for delivery near Ladoura Panchayat Bhawan in the Kalyanpur police station area, was packed in 20 plastic buckets concealed within sacks.
Suspicion arose at the Jitwarpur warehouse when a courier worker detected an alcohol-like smell from one of the parcels and alerted the team leader, who then informed company representatives and the police.
Upon opening the packages, officers found liquor hidden inside the buckets instead of the declared contents. A total of 252 litres of beer and 62 litres of Indian-made foreign liquor were recovered.
Police said the bottles had been carefully packed in buckets and covered with jute bags to avoid detection during transit.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the consignment was linked to sellers based in Mumbai and had been routed via Ranchi. It was to be delivered to a local recipient identified as Virendra Kumar.
A complaint has been filed by the courier company’s channel team leader, Keshav Kunal Sinha, who also provided mobile numbers and PAN details of the accused to the police.
Station House Officer Ajit Prasad Singh said the seized liquor has been confiscated and further investigation is underway to trace the network involved in the operation.
Officials said using courier services or online platforms to transport liquor is a serious violation of law in the state, where prohibition is in force. Authorities are now examining possible links to a wider smuggling network.
