Hyderabad gang caught selling spurious liquor in expensive Royal Salute bottles

A subsequent raid led to the seizure of 41 full bottles of adulterated Shivaji Regal liquor and 63 premium liquor bottles of various brands.

Hyderabad: A gang that was refilling expensive imported liquor bottles, including Royal Salute Scotch whisky priced at around Rs 25,000 a bottle, with cheap adulterated alcohol and selling them for profit has been busted by the Secunderabad Excise District Task Force.

The operation began when task force officials, acting on intelligence about an ongoing adulteration racket, intercepted two individuals near Rasoolpura Metro Station and recovered six bottles of Shivaji Regal premium liquor.

On examination, the liquor turned out to be adulterated, with the original contents being replaced with low-grade alcohol.

During interrogation, the accused revealed where the operation was being run. A subsequent raid on that location led to the seizure of 41 full bottles of adulterated Shivaji Regal liquor and 63 premium liquor bottles of various brands that had been refilled with the spurious mix.

Three persons, Chikun Swain, Sonu Mahanti and Prapul Kumar Naik, have been identified as the accused. Swain and Mahanti have been arrested. The third remains at large.