In a major crackdown, the police have arrested a partner of The Theka Wine Shop in connection with the seizure of illegal foreign liquor worth Rs 10 crore from the outlet near Signature Tower in Gurugram on December 9. The SIT apprehended him from Delhi Airport on Monday night.
The accused has been identified as Sugreev Vishnoi, a resident of Fatehabad. He was deported from Bali, Indonesia. A police team arrested him upon his arrival at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. It is reported that he fled after getting wind of the raid on the shop.
With the help of other agencies, the Gurugram police had issued a Lookout Circular against the accused on December 16. He was subsequently deported from Indonesia.
Previously, the police had arrested the shop's owner, Ankush Goyal, a resident of Narnaul; manager Ajay Kumar; and a canter driver in connection with this case. Information about Sugreev was obtained during the interrogation of Ankush Goyal.
Questioning revealed that the wine shop has a total of three owners, including Ankush Goyal. Sugreev holds a 25 per cent share in the business. The foreign and imported liquor seized from the wine shop had been kept there for sale by him and another partner. The shop's licence is in the name of Surender.
On the night of December 9, a team from the Excise department raided the liquor shop operating under the name 'The Theka' near Signature Tower Chowk and uncovered excise duty evasion of approximately Rs 90,00,000. A total of 47,220 bottles of foreign liquor were seized during the raid on the shop.
The seized bottles lacked holograms and track-and-trace strips. The Police Commissioner has formed an SIT, led by ACP East Amit Bhatia, to investigate the matter.