Liquor Smuggling Thrives At Odisha-Andhra Border Despite Checks

Bhubaneswar: Help thy neighbour. Both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh (AP) seem to have taken the adage seriously because liquor smuggling continues unabated at the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) despite strict checks on the AP side. In fact, the smuggling of liquor from Odisha has become a lucrative business in AP. Between 100 to 150 liquor bottles smuggled in from Odisha have been seized in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts of AP, in the past few weeks.

Tipplers in these two districts have been procuring different brands from Odisha and selling them in Andhra Pradesh, Times of India (TOI) reported. Though the AP government set up the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) and check posts along AOB to stop the inflow of liquor into the state, a number of organised rackets continue to operate.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg, as the major haul of liquor smuggled in from Odisha goes undetected in the region, the report added.

“We are now focusing on some of the interior village routes that are connected to Odisha as liquor smugglers are now taking interior roads instead of highway to evade the police radar,” a senior officer was quoted as telling TOI.