Assam Police have busted a gang in Golaghat district that was illegally smuggling English liquor on a large scale into Nagaland, a neighboring state where alcohol is prohibited. The police had been tracking this gang for a long time.
Sources informed TDG that the police received a tip-off, leading to an operation under the leadership of two sub-inspectors from Golaghat district. During the operation, two drivers of a liquor pickup truck were detained near Makrang Tinali in Golaghat. Five people in a Bolero vehicle, which was escorting the truck, were also taken into custody. The detainees are Jeem Jindang, Deepak Dutt, Vedant Madhav Bora, Sumant Bora, Kalyan Dutt, Bipul Deuri, driver Ziaur Rahman, and Rubul Ali.
Who are these detainees?
Jeem Jindang is from Karbi Anglong district, while the others are from Jorhat. Golaghat District Security Superintendent Rajen Singh told the media that the consignment of liquor was originally planned to be delivered to a wine shop in Mariani from a ware house in Jorhat. However, two days later, it was intended to be smuggled into Nagaland via Merapani.
Acting on the secret information, the police set up a checkpoint near Makrang Tinali and arrested the smugglers along with the liquor pickup truck. The police also detained Vipul Deuri, the owner of a wine shop in Mariani, and brought him to the police station.
The police seized various brands of liquor from the truck, with a market value of around Rs 39 lakh. A case has been registered against the accused under the NDPS and Smuggling Act, and further action has begun.
Nagaland banned liquor in 1989. The Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act was passed on April 24, 1990. Despite this ban, in recent years, liquor has replaced drugs in terms of addiction. In February 2024, the Nagaland DGP stated, “Drugs have replaced liquor as bribe for voters in poll-bound Nagaland.”
