5,000 Imported Whiskies Seized in India

NEW DELHI—Indian authorities have seized banned narcotic substances worth 260 million rupees (US$5 million) and over 5,000 bottles of whisky illegally brought into the country to evade import duties, said police on Wednesday.

"The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized a consignment of over 26 kilograms of Afghan-origin heroin worth 260 million rupees from a person who brought in the banned narcotic substances from the northern Indian state of Punjab to the national capital. The consignment was to be despatched to certain European and Southeast Asian countries," a senior police official told the media.

One person has been arrested in this connection, said the police official, adding that a high-level probe has been ordered to ascertain how the banned narcotic substances were brought into the country.

"In another raid, the DRI seized some 5,000 bottles of branded premium scotch imported into the country under the guise of aerated fruit drinks to evade import duty which amounts to 140 percent. The bottles were inside a container which came from Singapore," the official said.