Patna: Prohibition officials have seized 1,786 bottles of liquor, containing around 354 litres and valued at approximately Rs 4.30 lakh, from a vacant and dilapidated building near the BN College hostel in Bihar.
No arrests have been made in connection with the liquor seizure, with the suspected smugglers fleeing before officials reached the site.
The raid was conducted on Friday evening after the Prohibition Department received information that a consignment of smuggled liquor had been stored at the hostel premises. A team led by Inspector Narendra Kumar searched a vacant building near the hostel and recovered the bottles.
Officials suspect the liquor was deliberately concealed near the hostel to avoid attracting attention.
The department has launched further raids to identify those responsible and establish the source of the consignment, how it reached the site and who else may have been involved.
Officials said those identified as responsible would face action under the Excise Act.
Bihar has enforced prohibition since 2016, when the Nitish Kumar government imposed a statewide ban on liquor.
Two Arrested With 22kg Cannabis In Patna
In a separate operation, the Special Task Force (STF) and Patna Police arrested two alleged cannabis smugglers in Ramkrishnanagar late on Thursday after recovering 22kg of cannabis from a bus travelling from the Nepal border towards Patna.
The arrested men were identified as Sonu Kumar, from Forbesganj in Araria district, and Rupesh Kumar, from Phalka Bazar in the same district.
The STF had received information that a large consignment of cannabis was being transported from the Nepal border to Patna and alerted Ramkrishnanagar police.
Police intercepted the bus late Thursday evening and searched its luggage compartment, where they recovered 22kg of cannabis estimated to be worth around Rs 12 lakh.
After questioning passengers, police identified the two men as alleged smugglers and arrested them. Two mobile phones were also seized from their possession.
The police are investigating the suspected supply chain and movement of the cannabis consignment.
