New Delhi:

An oil tanker was found carrying liquor in Bihar, officials said on Wednesday. About 200 beer crates were found in the Hindustan petroleum tanker and brought to the excise police station. The Nagaland-registered tanker was seized from Muzaffarpur while the smugglers fled.

Officials said the excise department had received a tip about the liquor consignment, after which they formed a team to arrest the smugglers. The officials set up a road blockade, seeing which the smugglers turned the tanker towards a national highway.

“After being chased, the driver and the liquor trader left the tanker on the national highway and fled,” said Vijay Shekhar Dubey, Assistant Excise Commissioner.

The seized liquor was made in Arunachal Pradesh. The local trader who had smuggled in the liquor is being identified and raids are on to arrest him, the official said, adding that a case has been registered against him.

The sale of liquor is banned in Bihar, due to which people resort to innovative ways to source alcohol. Smugglers often come up with new ways to transport liquor – sometimes in ambulances and trucks. There have been instances where smugglers have built compartments inside petrol tanks to store liquor bottles.