A.P. cracks the whip on illicit liquor trade along inter-State borders

Illicit liquor seized from the areas along the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border during raids by the Excise Department recently. Photo: Special Arrangement

The Andhra Pradesh government has intensified its war on illicit liquor with a massive inter-State crackdown targeting smuggling and brewing operations along its borders with Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

The coordinated enforcement effort, part of the State’s ‘Navodayam 2.0’ initiative, has resulted in large-scale seizures, destruction of illegal liquor, and the dismantling of several brewing setups.

Under the directive of Principal Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena, the Prohibition & Excise Department deployed 381 officers—228 from A.P. and 153 from the neighbouring States—to execute the raids across the border districts.

Commissioner Nishant Kumar and Enforcement Director Rahul Dev Sharma led the operations, which spanned several high-risk regions and yielded significant results.

Mr. Nishant Kumar on Monday said that the officials destroyed over 49,000 litres of fermented jaggery wash and seized more than 2,000 litres of illicit distilled (ID) liquor in Srikakulam and Parvathipuram-Manyam districts bordering Odisha. In ASR district bordering Telangana, 25,300 litres of fermented jaggery wash was destroyed during raids at Gunduvari Gudem and Pichhukulapadu.

Meanwhile, preventive operations in Chittoor along the Tamil Nadu border led to the dismantling of 50 brewery units, although no production activities were found.

In Anantapur and Sri Satya Sai districts near the Karnataka border, enforcement teams booked 11 cases, destroyed over 1,600 litres of fermented jaggery wash, and arrested several individuals involved in the illegal trade.

Cross-border collaboration

Commissioner Nishant Kumar emphasised the importance of cross-border collaboration and praised the participation of the Central forces such as the CRPF in Telangana’s Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) zones.

Enforcement Director Rahul Dev Sharma affirmed that operations under the Navodayam 2.0 would continue with more intensity to dismantle the liquor networks.

The crackdown marks a decisive step in curbing cross-border liquor smuggling and has set a precedent for multi-State enforcement cooperation, they observed.