Pune Excise Department seizes illegal liquor worth over forty lakh in two major operations

Two coordinated actions by Pune Excise teams led to the seizure of illegal Goa-made liquor, fake caps and labels, vehicles, and arrests of eight accused across Sinhgad Road, Nande, Swami Chincholi and Indapur.

Pune | November 20, 2025: Acting on the directives of senior excise officials, two separate teams of the Maharashtra State Excise Department, Pune, carried out major operations on November 18, seizing illegal liquor worth more than ₹40 lakh and arresting a total of eight individuals involved in smuggling, storage and distribution of Goa-made liquor.

In the first operation, the Pune Excise D Division team intercepted a Toyota Innova Crysta on Sinhgad Road near Dhayari Phata around 5.15 pm. The vehicle was found carrying a large stock of Goa-manufactured whisky, including McDowell’s No.1, Royal Stag, and Imperial Blue, totalling 720 sealed bottles. The team seized the vehicle and liquor worth ₹24,04,160.
Two accused, Amar Pundalik Bodre of Satara and Chetan Madhukar Bate of Pune, were arrested on the spot.

Further investigation led the team to Bate’s residence in Nande, where another illegal stock was found, including Goa-made Adriel Classic whisky, fake caps, and empty bottles used for refilling. Goods worth ₹1,18,560 were seized, and two more accused, Shubham Rajendra Bhusare and Uwejraja Shakeel Tamboli, were arrested.

A third location in Purandar yielded an additional 384 bottles of Adriel Classic whisky and 750 fake caps, worth ₹4,06,500, leading to another arrest.The total seizure in this action amounted to ₹29,92,220.

In the second operation, the Daund Excise Division team laid a trap near Swami Chincholi on the Pune–Solapur route at 11 am and stopped a silver Maruti Eeco carrying 720 sealed bottles of Goa-made whisky. Liquor and the vehicle worth ₹8,85,600 were seized and the driver, Vaibhav Salunkhe, was detained.

A follow-up search at Salunkhe’s house recovered 432 bottles and 1,300 fake labels, leading to the arrest of two more individuals. The total value of seized items in this case reached ₹10,12,900.

All accused have been booked under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, and produced in court, which has granted police custody. Excise officials have urged citizens to report information regarding illegal liquor on the toll-free number 18002339999.

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