56,000 Liquor Bottles Worth 4 Crores Seized In Dry Gujarat

A police station in Gujarat's Bhuj is faced with a one-of-a-kind challenge - where to store 56,000 liquor bottles. The police station's storage rooms are proving too small to accommodate liquor worth Rs 4 crore. Staff members have been working for hours to catalogue and stack thousands of liquor boxes, a task that remains pending due to the sheer volume. But what is the source of this massive influx of liquor? Raids.

In a major blow to the organised liquor syndicate in Gujarat, the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) conducted an unprecedented raid near Dhaneti and Vadvala villages in Bhuj, West Kutch. The operation resulted in the seizure of Indian Made Foreign Liquor worth over Rs 4 crore, marking it as one of the most significant crackdowns in the region's recent history.

The sheer scale of the seizure has created a logistical challenge at the Paddhar Police Station.

Acting on a specific tip-off regarding a "prohibition cutting" (offloading) in Vadvala Village, the SMC team, led by Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) SV Galchar, swooped in on February 20, 2026. The team seized products valued at over Rs 5 crore. This includes:

• 56,088 Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) bottles valued at Rs 4,00,85,270
• Six transport vehicles - two Tata trucks, three Tata mini trucks, and a Mahindra Pickup - worth Rs 1,08,21,000

Organised Crime Network Exposed

The police have arrested two individuals at the scene: Jasram Jaga Bharwad, a resident of Rapar, and Vishal Biren Karamakam, resident of Meghpar, Borichi in Gujarat.

The investigation has revealed a deep-rooted network involving 23 wanted accused. Among the prominent names are listed bootleggers and receivers - Navjoyot alias Navghan Rajgor Maraj, Anopsinh Abhesinh Rathod, Devendra alias Devo Khodidas Kapdi and Mustafa alias Rahul alias Mahakal Pathan, who has been identified as the supplier from Mewat, Haryana.

A Week Of Intense Crackdowns

This operation follows a similar high-stakes raid just three days ago near Anjar in East Kutch, where liquor worth Rs 2.06 crore was intercepted. The back-to-back actions by the SMC indicate an intensified campaign against interstate smuggling routes entering the border district.

A case has been registered under various sections of the Gujarat Prohibition Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, including provisions related to organised crime and criminal conspiracy.