Eight persons were arrested in Devbhumi Dwarka in Gujarat for allegedly manufacturing and selling prohibited alcoholic beer in the guise of Ayurvedic syrup.
The racket was underway since 2020 and the accused had sold nearly 2 crore syrup-cum-beer bottles worth Rs 42 crore in the previous financial year alone, said Devbhumi Dwarka Superintendent of Police Nitesh Pandey.
Among those arrested was one Sunil Kakkad, who used to handle the production and marketing of the syrup, which was mainly sold over the counter in colourful bottles at paan shops in Saurashtra region, people used to buy it knowing it will give them a ‘kick’ just like beer.