HYDERABAD: If you have relatives or friends in other countries, you would know about liquor chocolates. Selling this form of chocolates could land people in trouble as Telangana Prohibition and Excise department officials have seized liquor chocolates which were manufactured, and sold in the city. Chocolates containing rum, whisky, vodka and other forms of alcohol, were seized from a store at Abids and from a home in Ameerpet where it was being manufactured.
Officials from the department said that sale of any product containing alcohol, be it five-ml of liquor, without holding licence, is an offence under Section 34(a) of Telangana Excise Act, which attracts punishment ranging from three to five-years of imprisonment. Does this mean that people getting chocolates from other countries to distribute among their loved ones too an offence? The Excise department officials said ‘no’. “Consumption of liquor is not an offence. Since the purpose (of bring and distributing among loved ones) is consumption, it cannot be an offence. However, one needs licence to sell liquor,” said N Anji Reddy, assistant excise superintendent.
The department’s enforcement teams conducted raid at Kamal Watch and Gifts Store at Abids and seized different forms of 1,081 liquor chocolates. “The liquor chocolates were supplied by Heera Impex Chocolate Distributor, Siddiamber Bazaar who in-turn procured it from Rajanish Kumar & Sons, New Delhi supplier,” Anji Reddy said.
Manufacturer in Ameerpet
A person who was manufacturing liquor chocolates at Ameerpet was caught by the Excise department Hyderabad Task Force team. Officials said that a person G Sreedhar started to take orders to manufacture liquor chocolates from past one-year. Apart from whisky, rum chocolates and other, they also seized liquor bottles. In their raids, three people were caught and cases would be registered at Excise Stations in Narayanaguda and Ameerpet.
LSD blots from J&K seized in Hyd, two held
Procurement of drugs via darknet and its delivery through courier services in the city has come to light once again with the arrest of two persons. Based on a tip off, the Prohibition and Excise department officials seized LSD blots sent via courier from Jammu & Kashmir. The sleuths conducted route-watch near a restaurant in Puppalaguda and caught one person K Praneeth with five blots of LSD on Friday. They conducted checks at a flat in Nandu apartment and seized 15 more blots of LSD, 1.5 gm of Malana cream, a cannabis derivative.
Students caught selling ganja
Three engineering students and their 19-year-old friend, who were planning to sell ganja to the students residing in the hostels of JNTU at KPHB were arrested by KPHB police on Saturday. Police seized ganja weighing 400 grams from their possession. According to police, they had been procuring contraband from Vikarabad district.