Illegal liquor racket using industrial spirit busted in rice mill near Hyderabad; 2 held

Hyderabad: A spurious liquor manufacturing racket operating out of a rice mill near Ramapuram, Mylavaram, has been busted by the State Task Force (STF) of the Excise Department. The STF A-Team, led by officer Anjireddy, carried out the raid following leads gathered during recent inspections in Amalapuram, Revalli, and Markapuram, where adulterated liquor was seized.

According to officials, the accused had procured spirit from the Krishna Padma Spirit Company in Hyderabad and were using it to manufacture counterfeit Whisky. The operation was allegedly run by Thota Shivakumar, who works at Shiva Parvati Wine Shop, along with a group of associates. They had set up the illicit unit in a rice mill and were bottling and labeling the fake liquor to resemble branded whisky.

During the raid, the STF seized 38 cartons of whisky worth approximately ₹15 lakh. In addition, 20 bundles of labels, 178 different brand stickers, nine cans of spirit, and 11,000 empty bottles were recovered from the site. The authorities believe this material was intended for large-scale distribution of the counterfeit liquor.

Thota Shivakumar and another individual, Mallikarjun, were arrested at the scene. Cases have also been registered against others allegedly involved, including Krishna Prem Charan Singh and R. Srinivas, who is also known as Abdul Kalam.

Excise Enforcement Director Shanawaz Qasim commended the STF team for their swift action and successful crackdown on the illegal liquor manufacturing unit.