Excise department officials in Maharashtra arrested two persons from Bhiwandi in Thane district for allegedly illegally storing and trying to sell Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 55.22 lakh, an official said.
The authorities seized more than 5,200 IMFL bottles during raids conducted on Tuesday at the shops run by the two accused, he said.
“Officials of the excise department’s flying squad of Konkan division conducted raids at the shops in Angaon of Bhiwandi-Wada road, and seized a huge stock of IMFL worth Rs 55,22,400,” Superintendent of Excise in Thane, Nilesh Sangde, said.
“Two shopkeepers were arrested for illegally stocking and trying to sell the liquor…A total of 5,288 liquor bottles were seized from the shops,” he said.
The arrested shopkeepers were identified as Ramendrakumar Tiwari (48) and Riyaz Ali Avid (55), the official said.