‘Ship of the desert turns bootlegger’: How 5 men used camels to run Faridabad-Delhi liquor smuggling racket

Based on the information, the drop-off was a forest stretch in Sangam Vihar — which spans for 70-80 km, almost till Manesar, a police officer said.

“A special team, led by Inspector Umesh Yadav and comprising head constables Joginder and Krishan, was dispatched,” said a police officer.

When the police team reached the stretch in the early hours of Friday, they heard a sound. “It sounded like bells. Soon, we spotted five men, holding three camels by a rope, walking on the dirt track. Huge cartons were tied to the backs of the animals,” the police officer said.

The team stopped the ‘cavalry’ and searched the cartons, finding illegal liquor bottles stashed in them, a senior police officer said.

Five men — identified as Vinod Bhadana, Sunil Bhadana, Rahul, Ajay, and Saurabh — were arrested. The team also nabbed their unlikely accomplices. This unusual setup was the backbone of an illegal liquor smuggling operation into South Delhi, police said.

“The plan was to get the camels till the boundary of the forest. Using the camels’ height, the accused would send the cartons over the wall, from where they would be transported in bikes,” the police officer said.

Police recovered a total of 42 cartons of alcohol, loaded on the backs of the animals.

According to a police officer, the accused used forest routes to avoid detection, as police patrols and barricades are present all night on the roads from Faridabad to Sangam Vihar.

However, vehicles often struggled to pass through the dense bushes and narrow pathways. “By steering clear of motorable roads and police checkpoints, and utilising slow-moving camels to blend into the local terrain, they sought to smuggle liquor from Faridabad into Delhi without raising suspicion,” DCP (South) Ankit Singh said.

The five men, and the three camels, would travel from Faridabad to Delhi everyday, carrying countrymade liquor.

“They bought the three camels about a year ago, in Alwar, for Rs 60,000 each. Their initial round (of smuggling) was so successful that they have stuck to this modus operandi ever since,” a police officer said.

“The accused couldn’t use vehicles large enough to transport big consignments through the forest — especially without drawing attention. So, they used camels to quietly navigate the dirt tracks,” the police officer said.

Officers also said that the tip-off was received by the AATS during an operation to track illegal liquor.

“The camels have been at the station since last night. We don’t have any space to keep them. We are coordinating with authorities to ensure they are moved to a place where they can be taken care of,” the officer also said.