Cachar: 508 cartons of liquor found in secret chamber of oil tanker

Police in Assam's Cachar district have seized 508 cartons of liquor hidden in a specially built compartment inside an oil tanker and arrested the driver, India Today NE reported on Saturday.

How the tanker was caught

Acting on a tip-off, a team led by Jirighat police station officer-in-charge Rana Kumar Nath set up a checkpoint in front of the police station on the Silchar-Imphal National Highway. The team stopped an oil tanker with the registration number NL-01-G-6208 that was travelling from Silchar towards Jiribam in Manipur.

When officers searched the vehicle, they found a concealed chamber built into the tanker. All 508 cartons of liquor were recovered from that hidden space, police said. The driver, Roushan Kumar Roy, a resident of Garal in Guwahati, was arrested on the spot.

Police sources put the value of the seized liquor at several lakh rupees, without giving an exact figure. It has not been said what brands or type of liquor were found, or whether it was meant for sale in Assam or across the border in Manipur.

Investigation

Jirighat police have started an investigation to find out where the liquor was loaded and where it was meant to be delivered. Investigators are also checking whether anyone else, such as the tanker's owner or people waiting at the other end, was involved in the smuggling attempt.

Jirighat lies on the Assam side of the Jiri river, which forms the border with Manipur's Jiribam district. The highway through it is one of the main supply routes into Manipur, carrying fuel, food and other goods, which is why police checks on the stretch are frequent.

A familiar trick

Hidden compartments in fuel tankers and trucks have been used before to move contraband through the region, as such vehicles are rarely opened at checkpoints. The India Today NE report compared the method to the smuggling scenes in the Telugu film "Pushpa".

Police have not said whether the tanker was carrying any fuel along with the liquor, or whether the case has been linked to any earlier seizures on the route.

NEInsider will update this story if police release more details about the network behind the consignment.