Powerful syndicates have been organised to ensure adequate and uninterrupted supply of liquor across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur and whose trade is estimated to run into a few thousand crore rupees every year.
Like Nagaland, which has banned sale and consumption of Indian Made Foreign Liquor through the Nagaland Liquor Prohibition Total Act 1989, Manipur and Mizoram have also prohibited sale and consumption of liquor.
For the first time and in an explosive revelation, a whistleblower, who requested anonymity, has exposed the entire black market in liquor in Nagaland which is estimated at a few hundred crore rupees a year.
According to the whistleblower, the trade is run by a well organised underworld under liquor barons. It involves greasing the palms of various groups including agencies. The whistleblower, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, explained in detail the modus operandi and also provided a two-page monthly payment sheet containing details of all those who are paid their “fee” every month.
According to the whistleblower, the “syndicate” system has been running for over ten years. The whistleblower said that initially there were only two syndicate groups. However, the two groups discontinued after a “major raid by a central team” where they incurred loss of over Rs. 50 core.
The reorganised syndicate members have been given wholesale distribution of liquor for Dimapur and Kohima districts and from where the contraband gets smuggled to different parts of the state.
The entire liquor for distribution is produced in distilleries in Arunachal Pradesh which supplies to the syndicate-chain running into a few thousand crores a year.
The contraband containing liquor from the distilleries and loaded in several trucks are transported to Numaligarh and from where some are headed towards Mizoram and even Assam.
Assam state excise has also taken up the issue of being deprived of several hundreds crores in excise revenue due to contraband sale from Arunachal Pradesh.
The remaining contraband for the Nagaland liquor syndicates are transported to Lahorijan (Karbi Anglong) headed for Dimapur to some particular ‘bonded warehouses’.
On an average, eight trucks– five for Dimapur and three for Kohima– are loaded with liquor for retail sale in Dimapur and Kohima. The consignments include IMFL (Beer, Whisky and Rum) manufactured and sold as branded items.
The entire operations are usually carried out from 10 p.m. to wee hours the next day for at least five-six days a week. The whistleblower informed that consignment worth Rs. 2 crore (approximate) is smuggled into Dimapur every night, thus totalling Rs. 12 crore (approximate) per week. According to the whistleblower, the “retailers” are shops/business establishments that sell bottled water, who run shady “hotels and shops” in different areas across Dimapur and Kohima.
According to the whistleblower, majority of the syndicate members and “retailers” are non-Nagas who run the illegal trade under the patronage of NPGs and assistance of law enforcement agencies.
According to the whistleblower, the illegal trade in liquor is a money spinner that benefits far too many across the entire spectrum and the whistleblower was convinced that liquor prohibition can only ensure black market will thrive.
The Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989 is an Act of Nagaland Legislative Assembly which prohibits possession, sale, consumption & manufacture of liquor and import and export of it in Nagaland.
The Act further bans the use or possession of denatured spirit or any material, utensil, implement or apparatus whatsoever used for manufacture of liquor.