Chennai: In 2013, the prohibition enforcement wing (PEW) detected over 89,000 cases of illicit trade of liquor, besides arresting 89,940 people, including 7,526 women, and seizing nearly 9.47 lakh spurious liquor bottles worth nearly Rs 10 crore.
Statistics from PEW show that they have seized over 7 lakh litres of illicitly distilled arrack worth Rs2.8 crore and 67,000 of fermented wash during last year. During the same period, the police also seized nearly 1,900 vehicles, besides booking 230 people under the Bootleggers Act to keep them in jail for one year.
As many as 14,000 toddy sachets were also seized by the police during the same time, while the quantity of rectified spirit seized stood at 1.46 lakh litres, worth nearly Rs1.5 crore. An official noted that PEW had detected largescale sale of arrack, rectified spirit, illegal sale of Tasmac liquor and illicit selling of Puducherry liquor bottles in many northern pockets of the state.
According to PEW officials, Tindivanam in Villupuram districts could be termed as the hub of illicit arrack as the flow of rectified spirit from Indore in MP and Bengaluru in Karnataka culminates here.
Police sources said trafficking of rectified spirit mainly happens from Indore via Nagpur, Hyderabad, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Gudur, Naidupet, Nagari, Tiruttani, Kancheepuram, Sunguvarchatram, Walajabad, Madurantakam to Tindivanam.
The police have also noticed largescale movement of rectified spirit from Tindivanam to Kariakal via Panruti and Chidambaram. Those who take rectified spirit to Kerala prefer the route via Tiruchy, Dindigul, Kodai Road, Tenkasi, Senkottai and cross the Puliarai checkpost to reach the neighbouring state. From Naidupet, the rectified spirit is also transported to Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Puducherry as well.
Those transporting rectified spirit from Bengaluru to Tamil Nadu go via Hosur, Vellore and Vandavasi, to reach Tindivanam. Even those smuggling to Kerala take the Hosur, Krishnagiri, Bhavani, Perundurai, Coimbatore route and cross the Valayar check-post to reach Palakkad.
