The Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), on Wednesday, arrested five persons and seized Karnataka-made liquor bottles worth ₹1 lakh at the border checkpost near Cheekalapalle village in Madanapalle mandal of Annamayya district.
The SEB officials said that the accused — Ahmed Basha, Rithesh Reddy, Farooq, Kumar Reddy, and Balaji — aged between 25 to 45, all hailed from Bodumallevari Palli in Piler mandal.
They were returning in an SUV carrying the liquor stock when the SEB personnel stopped the vehicle, the accused tried to escape but were apprehended. The accused’s modus operandi was to purchase liquor from neighbouring Karnataka and sell it for a higher price. A case was registered and the accused were sent for remand.
Meanwhile, in a similar incident on Wednesday, the Madanapalle Taluq police arrested an elderly man, Venkata Ramana (68) of Pothabolu in Madanapalle, and seized Karnataka-made liquor sachets, while he was travelling in an inter-state bus from Bengaluru.