Gurugram, Nov 5 (PTI) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) at the Gurugram Zonal Office has taken significant action in a case involving the alleged illegal sale of foreign liquor and tax evasion amounting to crores of rupees, an official said on Thursday.
On November 3 and 4, a team from the Gurugram Zonal Office conducted raids at 10 locations across Delhi-NCR, Haryana, and Punjab, he added.
During the two-day operation, they seized Rs 11 lakh in cash, along with crucial documents and digital records related to the purchase and sale of liquor.
The investigation revealed that this syndicate generated criminal proceeds exceeding Rs 10 crore. This action by the ED is part of a money-laundering investigation linked to ‘The Theka’, a licensed liquor shop in Gurugram, reportedly owned by Ankush Goyal and his partners, he added.
According to the investigative agency, an FIR was registered following a complaint by excise officials. They had previously recovered and seized 3,921 cases and 176 bottles of loose imported foreign liquor without holograms and track and trace strips from ‘The Theka’ on December 9, 2025.
Additionally, another FIR was filed by Haryana Police against some members of the liquor syndicate for being involved in the sale of spurious liquor.
“Investigation revealed that the foreign liquor found without holograms and track and trace strips is imported into India by government-recognised companies. The liquor syndicate misused the bond-to-bond transfer system, under which liquor can be transferred from one state to another without payment of customs duty and excise duty at the time of transfer.
“For this purpose, they set up separate companies in Haryana and Goa/Maharashtra and obtained the required customs licences and documents. After making payments to the foreign liquor supplier companies through banking channels, the liquor was transferred to bonded warehouses in Haryana”, an official informed.
The searches revealed that after obtaining the liquor license for the period 2025-2027, a plan was devised by the liquor syndicate to increase profits by procuring and selling imported foreign liquor without holograms and the strips.
The liquor syndicate is found to have procured more than a lakh of imported foreign liquor bottles between June 2025 and November 2025, officials added.
“This foreign liquor was then illegally sold through ‘The Theka’ without payment of the applicable customs duty, VAT and other applicable taxes, along with permit fees for each bulk litre of imported foreign liquor procured. The liquor vends then illegally sold this imported foreign liquor, passing it off as legitimate stock, made a profit of 20-25 per cent on these illegal sales and generated proceeds of crime worth more than Rs 10 crore. Further investigation is in progress”, the official added. PTI COR MPL
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