Bengaluru: Railways unknowingly transported more than 1,000 litres of illegal liquor worth over Rs Rs 60 lakh to Bengaluru through its freight train. It was detected Thursday when Railway Protection Force (RPF) recovered the parcel from Yeswanthpur railway station.It all started when Delhi police alerted RPF’s Bengaluru division, suspecting illegal transport of liquor, following a case registered on May 18 at the national capital’s Mehrauli police station.Once alerted by Delhi police, RPF personnel at Yeswanthpur were called to the spot to attend a parcel special express which had arrived here from Okhla in Delhi around 9:30pm.Meanwhile, officials of the state excise department also arrived at the Yeswanthpur Railway Yard. During a detailed check, several cartons containing liquor bottles were found in the parcel coaches.Officials found 74 cartons containing 1,118 liquor bottles of various brands. According to RPF, the total quantity of liquor seized was approximately 1,042 litres. The state excise department has taken the seized liquor into custody.AVG Logistics, the firm alleged to have transported the liquor, has been served a notice to appear before the excise department. “We are yet to ascertain the actual reason as the parcel van was leased out by South Western Railway (SWR) to the logistics firm. The investigation is ongoing”, a senior RPF officer told TOI.For context, liquor seizures from trains have been comparatively low in 2025-26. RPF data shows that in 2025-26, liquor worth Rs 2.3 lakh was seized by the RPF’s Bengaluru division.
