In a major crackdown on liquor smuggling along SG Highway, Sola police seized a massive consignment of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) concealed beneath paddy husk in a truck near Nirma University.

Officers confiscated 43,296 bottles worth Rs 54.12 lakh, along with vehicles and goods valued at a total of Rs 64.27 lakh.

The seizure underscores how liquor syndicates continue to exploit SG Highway and adjoining routes as key corridors for transporting prohibited liquor from Punjab and Rajasthan to Saurashtra and Kutch.

Acting on specific intelligence, police inspector KN Bhukan and his team set up surveillance opposite Nirma University after learning that a truck carrying illicit liquor was moving from Khodiyar toward Sarkhej.

The vehicle, appearing to carry only paddy husk, was intercepted and searched. Beneath the straw, police discovered hundreds of cartons packed with liquor bottles.

The driver, Ramaram Jat (39) of Rajasthan, was arrested. During interrogation, he revealed that one Kishan from Rajasthan had sent him to Punjab, where an associate loaded the truck with liquor and covered it with husk to evade detection. The consignment was bound for Rajkot, but the police intercepted it before delivery.