KOCHI: The apprehension that the sudden shutdown of bars and liquor outlets in Covid’s wake will trigger large-scale illegal brewing in the state has been proven true, according to the latest data.
In all, 576 bar hotels, and 291 beer and wine parlours were ordered to close down by the state government on March 23.
But the outlets of government-run Bevco were allowed to function even as the 21-day nationwide lockdown kicked in on March 24.
Later, following pressure from various quarters, the government announced the closure of all the 265 Bevco outlets across 14 districts.
The sudden end to liquor availability in Kerala, which has the highest per capita alcohol consumption in India (the state consumes over 8 litres per person per day), spawned fears of a spike in illegal brewing in the state.
The ‘BevQ’ app had to wait till May 27 its launch was marred by technical snags and confusion as drinkers apparently sourced their daily quota illegally.
When TNIE went through the data on the number of excise cases registered between January and November last year (figures for December are not yet available), it was found that the number of excise cases during the 11 months of 2020 surpassed those during the entire 2019.
However, the arrests in illegal brewing cases were lower compared to 2019. As many as 14,103 Abkari cases were registered during the January-November period last year as against the 13,763 Abkari cases registered in 2019.
While 8,782 people were arrested during the 11 months of 2020, their number was 11,271 in 2019.
The saving grace was the drastic fall in the number of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act cases which officials attribute to Covid-induced curbs on inter-state travel.
T A Ashokkumar, deputy excise commissioner, admitted that illegal brewing had witnessed a spike during the initial months of the lockdown, which led to the increase in Abkari cases.
“Illegal brewing had been coming down over the years. However, people resorted to the illegal activity due to the unavailability of liquor following the lockdown. Those days, our units were making seizures of hooch(spurious liquor) and wash(used for brewing) almost on a daily basis,” he told TNIE.
With liquor stores and bars having reopened, there is a slight dip in the number of Abkari cases, Ashokkumar said.
“But still our squads are gathering information on illegal brewing in houses and isolated locations,” he said.
Excise sleuths seized 24,982 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor illegally sold in the black market compared to the 29,096 litres in 2019.
“The seizure of spurious liquor and wash peaked in April and May. The seizure of wash was 134,681 litres and 1,02,542 litres in April and May, respectively. The seizure of arrack was 1,444litres and 1,227 litres in April and May, respectively. At the same time seizure of IMFL came down to double digits during these months,” another excise official said.
As far seizure of spirit was concerned around 90 per cent of it was effected in Palakkad alone.
“This is because, spirit is smuggled from Tamil Nadu, mostly through the Walayar check- post. In one case, we seized 15,750 litres which had been brought in via Palakkad. This is the traditional route for the spirit smugglers,” the excise official said.
In another instance, police impounded 5,000 litres of spirit, brought in from Goa under the guise of raw material for making sanitiser, at Aluva on April 30,
DRUG CASES COME DOWN
On account of the lockdown-induced travel restrictions, NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985) Act cases came down in 2020.
Only 3,176 cases were registered during January-November 2020 as against the 7,099 NDPS cases in 2019. Similarly, when 7,370 persons had been arrested in NDPS cases in 2019, only 3,274 persons were nabbed in 2020.
“All drugs and ganja come from outside Kerala. So when travel restrictions were imposed, NDPS cases came down drastically,” said Ashokkumar. During the time, a number of drug addicts were given treatment at our Vimukthi Kendras.
“But now, as the borders have reopened, the flow of the drugs and ganja has resumed,” the excise officer said. Shreekumar Menon, formerly DG, customs, excise and narcotics, said the rising number of NDPS cases indicated the growing influence of the drug mafia.
“The youth should stay away from drugs. No drug peddler or trafficker will come to visit you in hospital or attend your funeral. So stay away from drugs,” he said. According to Ashokkumar, drugs and ganja peddlers use various tricks.”
"Earlier, a number of cases were registered during vehicle checking. But as information technology has advanced, details are passed on to drug smugglers about excise checking on the roads. Now, most seizures and arrests are made based on tip-offs, “ he said.