300 cr liquor smuggling racket operating in state, says Sardesai

NT Reporter Panaji

Fatorda GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai alleged in the House that a liquor smuggling operation worth an estimated Rs 300 crore annually, is operational in the state, complete with systematic bribery.

Sardesai said that “every month 100 trucks cross state borders, each carrying

Rs 20-25 lakh worth of liquor with bribes of Rs 50,000-60,000 paid to collection agents.” He said that at Patradevi checkpoint alone, “30 illegal trucks per month translate into Rs 90,000 in bribes to guards.” He alleged political protection at multiple checkpoints.

An unusual aspect of the operation, Sardesai alleged, is that “if trucks get caught, drivers simply chant ‘Jai Mata Di’ and are spared.” He warned that without immediate action, “we will have to jointly conduct sting operations” to expose the network.

Pointing to suspicious transfers, he said that “the officer who caught liquor smuggling at Patradevi was transferred three times in two months”.

At Keri checkpoint, authorities discovered a truck with 700 liquor boxes using fake registration plates. Sardesai said the vehicle was registered in Karnataka but bore a Goa number assigned to a light motor vehicle in Porvorim. He added that the liquor was traced to a Sattari distillery, where “owners admitted producing only 150 boxes, making the remaining 550 questionable.”

He also referred to an illegal distillery in Pissurelem closed by Gujarat police, questioning Goa police inaction despite written complaints. Reference was also made to a Goa excise officer’s arrest in Karnataka on smuggling charges.

Sardesai questioned the government’s claims of a surplus budget while such revenue losses occur, and demanded an independent probe along with reinstatement of transferred officers.