Absolut replica: Racket that sold ‘fake’ imported liquor busted in Mumbai

The bottles from the raid

During a midnight operation this weekend, the flying squad of the Excise Department (ED) intercepted a Maruti SX4 in South Mumbai and recovered 19 bottles of ‘fake’ foreign liquor brands like Black Label, Red Label, etc.

The flying squad arrested three people, who led them to huge cache of material stored in a godown that was used to pack, brand and sell local booze as expensive foreign-made liquor.

The officials recovered 6,390 caps, 260 tops, and 6,353 stickers stacked in 175 cartons – with the name of a China-based company –and 400 duty-free carry bags, along with 650 bottles and seals of premium vodka brand Absolut.

According to officials, the counter-freighters would fill low-end liquor in bottles of premium brands, and then sell them off in Mumbai and Goa as the original brew.

Sources say the materials seized would have been used to make fake expensive foreign-made liquor worth over Rs 11 crore.