Ongole: Cops told to keep vigil on sand, liquor mafia

Ongole: Prakasam District SP Siddharth Kaushal conducted a crime review meeting with the police and Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) officers at the Police Kalyanamandapam here on Saturday and ordered them to eradicate sand and liquor mafia in the district.

Speaking to the officials, the SP opined that the ambitious sand and liquor policies introduced in the State are being failed and the income to government is being dented by miscreants. He instructed the police and SEB staff to work together and act tough on the people resorting to illegal activities. They were told to keep continuous vigil on sand ramps to ensure no illegal transport takes place.

He ordered them to keep a special focus on sand transport from coastal areas such as Chirala, Chinaganzam, Vetapalem and Gudluru, etc.

Siddharth Kaushal asked the officers to strengthen the informers' network to eradicate the transport of illicit liquor from other States. He advised the SEB officials to have complete information on the sand reaches under their jurisdiction and act tough on the transport of ganja and other drugs. He asked them to coordinate with local police in conducting raids against those involved in illegal activities.

SEB Assistant Commissioner Y Srinivas Chowdhary said that so far 453 cases of sand smuggling have been registered in the district and 687 persons have been arrested along with the seizure of 15312.9 tonnes of sand.

He said that they have also arrested 858 people in 832 cases of liquor smuggling and seized 3,400 litres of non-duty liquor from other States, 1200 litres of Andhra Pradesh liquor (Duty Paid Liquor), 2168 kg of jaggery and 2860 litres of arrack from them. They have destroyed 1,99,610 litres of FJ Wash seized from 873 vehicles in the smuggling cases.

The SP appreciated the SEB officers for successfully completing the Kurichedu Sanitizer case by working along with local police.

The Additional SP B Ravi Chandra, Assistant Commissioner of Special Enforcement Bureau Y Srinivas Chowdary, all Sub-divisional Police Officers (DSPs), SEB officers, SB Inspector V Surya Narayana, DCRB Inspector M Bhima Naik, PCR Inspector R Rambabu, and other staff also participated in the meeting.