Jaswinder Singh Sandhu
Chandigarh, May 30, 2025 : In a significant crackdown, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema on Friday announced the seizure of 80,000 litres of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) in a major smuggling bust that exposed a wider interstate racket. Cheema revealed that late Thursday night, two trucks were intercepted at a roadside eatery on the Bathinda-Mansa road near Kotshamir. Both vehicles, carrying Gujarat registration numbers, were reportedly en route to other states and had been loaded with ethanol near Dinanagar in Gurdaspur district. Each truck was found carrying 40,000 litres of ethanol.In addition to the trucks, two cars were also recovered from the scene. Eight individuals were arrested in connection with the operation—two from Uttar Pradesh, two from Nepal, and four residents of Bathinda. Preliminary investigations indicate that the accused were involved in manufacturing and selling illegal liquor and sanitizers.Cheema informed the media that the seized ethanol could have been used to produce nearly 2.5 lakh bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) or 1.1 lakh bottles of hand sanitizers.With this seizure, the total ENA recovered under the Aam Aadmi Party-led government has reached 1.7 lakh litres.An FIR has been registered under stringent legal provisions, and the arrested individuals are currently being interrogated. Authorities are probing the intended destinations of the smuggled ethanol and the broader objectives behind the operation.“We have zero tolerance against corruption and illegal trade,” said Cheema, affirming that further investigation is ongoing.
