Excise Department geared up for ‘Operation Onam’

The Excise Department has tightened vigil on the district’s borders with Tamil Nadu following Sunday’s seizure of 665 litres of spirit from an abandoned car.

 As part of the ‘Onam Special Drive’, the department has also opened a number of control rooms in the district ahead of the Onam celebrations to prevent spurious liquor flowing into the district. The public can make use of these numbers (see box) to tip off Excise officials about spurious liquor and smuggling.

 Deputy Excise Commissioner P G Pramod Chandran said that the Enforcement Wing has made arrangements to keep a tight watch on bar hotels, toddy parlours and ayurveda medical shops.

 ‘’We’ve also strengthened night patrolling and inspection of vehicles,’’ a senior Excise official in the district said.

 Additional men have been deployed at the check-posts on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. The control rooms are open round the clock. The special drive in view of Onam was launched on July 20 and will end on September 2.

Car Stolen from

Vaikom in 2009

Excise officials are yet to trace the driver of the black Hyundai Santro used to smuggle 665 litres of spirit into the district on Sunday, but they have identified the original owner of the car.

 The car, abandoned by its lone occupant after Excise officials gave chase, had been stolen from Vaikom in 2009. Its owner, identified by Excise officials as Jimmy, had reported it to the local police as stolen.

 On Sunday, soon after the vehicle fell into their hands, the Excise Department had ascertained that the registration number and papers of the car were not genuine.

‘’The original colour was white. That too was changed after the theft,’’ assistant excise inspector S Jayakumar said.

 The 665 litres of spirit was kept in 19 cans in the boot and on the backseat of the car. Investigation is continuing into the case.

CONTROL ROOM NUMBERS

District Control Room: 0471-2473149

Excise Special Squad, Thiruvananthapuram: 0471-2312418

Excise Circle Office, Thiruvananthapuram: 0471-2348447

Excise Circle Office, Neyyatinkara: 0471-2222380

Excise Circle Office, Nedumangad: 0472-2802227

Excise Circle Office, Attingal: 0470-2622386

Excise Check-post, Amaravila: 0471-2221776