8,750 litres of illicit spirit seized, two held

Acting on a tip-off about smuggling of spirit to Kerala, Namakkal Superintendent of Police R Arularasu ordered a vehicle check by a special police team at Pulavarpalayam near Keerambur toll gate.

On Thursday, at 6.30 am, the cops intercepted a lorry with a Karnataka registration number and carried out a check in it. There were about 250 cans, each with a capacity of 35 litres of illicit spirit. Later, police took custody of the driver Kathirvelu (40) and cleaner Gnanasampath (44), both hailing from Villupuram.

Inquiries revealed that the duo had smuggled the illegal spirit under the garb of liquid chlorine from Balaji Chemicals Ltd in Haryana to Alappuzha in Kerala. Police suspect that two more persons from Chennai have been involved in spirit smuggling racket.