2 held with liquor worth Rs 30 lakh in UP's Sitapur

Lucknow: Two persons allegedly carrying liquor worth Rs 30 lakh in a truck were arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district, police said on Monday.

Saajid Ali, a resident of Shamli, and Mahendra Jatav from Meerut were nabbed at a roadside eatery in Nevada village on Sunday night, the UP Special Task Force (STF) said. The accused illegally brought the liquor from Haryana, they said.

Liquor worth Rs 30 lakh, the truck and a country-made pistol were seized, the STF said. During interrogation, Ali and Jatav told police that the kingpin of their gang is Irfan, a resident of Haryana, they said.

The two men told police that Irfan runs an organised smuggling racket which, they said, illegally transports liquor from Punjab and Haryana to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. A case has been registered against the duo under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Excise Act and the Arms Act, the STF said.