BHUBANESWAR: The city police on Monday arrested three persons for allegedly stealing liquor worth Rs 56 lakh from an alcohol manufacturing factory named Oriental Foreign Liquor in Bhagabanpur, which to various government depots across the state.
The unit has an agreement with Welcome Enterprises private limited to supply the liquor. On January 5, Oriental asked Welcome to provide 10-wheeler trucks to supply the consignments to Rayagada, Sambalpur and Raipur. However, Welcome had only two trucks.
The staff of the transport company contacted a truck association to provide them one heavy vehicle. The association came in contact with one of the accused Sonu Kumar Jena of Angul district, who assured them to arrange a 10-wheeler truck and deliver the consignment.
Jena is involved in transportation business and has criminal antecedents. Jena along with two other accused Bhaskar Chandra Samantray (31) and Biswajeet Mohanty (19) of Bolagarh, did not deliver the consignment at the designated depot and instead unloaded the liquor boxes in Angul.
A complaint was later lodged in this connection in Tamando police station. “Out of over 900 stolen boxes, 150 cartoons each consisting of 24 bottles were seized from the accused. The truck used in the crime was also seized,” said a police officer.