Rajkot: Babra police in Amreli district intercepted a private ambulance being used to smuggle Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) on the Bhavnagar-Rajkot highway, seizing liquor bottles, the vehicle and a mobile phone, worth a total of Rs 10.66 lakh.Police received intelligence about an ambulance ferrying liquor along the Bhavnagar-Rajkot highway.Setting up a trap between Aamblidhar and Untvad, the team flagged down the ambulance. A search of it led police to a specially fabricated secret cavity.“On opening the hidden compartment, officers discovered 1,968 bottles (180ml each) of IMFL meant for sale in MP, valued at Rs 3,56,688. The seized cache included premium whisky brands,” a police officer said in a statement.Police confiscated the contraband, the ambulance worth Rs 7 lakh and a mobile phone worth Rs 10,000, taking the total seizure value to Rs 10.66 lakh.The ambulance driver, 34-year-old Sagar alias Lalo Kamlesh Gohel, a resident of Moti Bazaar in Gondal, Rajkot district, was taken into custody. Proceedings have been initiated against him under the Gujarat Prohibition Act.The recent hooch tragedy in Bhavnagar district killed 10 people and Gujarat police have since begun a crackdown on bootleggers. Bootleggers are now adopting novel techniques to transport liquor.
