NEW DELHI, June 8: Delhi Transport and Excise Minister Rajendra Gupta today said the recovery of illicit liquor worth more than Rs 54 lakh from various parts of the city in the past five months indicated that a big gang could be running the operations.``Though there is no concrete evidence, it is possible that the liquor mafia is behind the sharp increase in illicit liquor trade in Delhi,'' he said. He told the media that the recent seizures could only be the ``tip of an ice berg''. He will be meeting the Delhi police commissioner and other officials to chalk out a strategy to crack down on illicit liquor trade. The Delhi police are also vested with powers under the Excise Act to curb illicit liquor trade in the city. According to Gupta, the Delhi Government's Excise Intelligence Bureau (EIB) had conducted 107 raids during last five months and seized unauthorised liquor valued at Rs 56 lakh. So far, 142 persons have arrested in this connection.Most of the liquor was bottled in distilleries outside Delhi. And the largest seizures were made from Sagarpur in west Delhi and Vasant Kunj.``We had thought that rise in illicit trade was due to prohibition in the adjoining state of Haryana. But large seizures of illicit liquor in the past two months, after Haryana lifted prohibition, are quite alarming,'' Gupta said.He also sought public cooperation in tackling this problem: ``My fear is that this spurious or illicit liquor may cause death of persons consuming it and create tension in the city.''
