3 tankers were smuggling the consignment from Lakhimpur Kheri district to Delhi (Representational)
In a joint operation, the police and the excise department seized 83,000 litres of rectified spirit with an estimated value of Rs 8 crore being ferried to Delhi in three tankers and arrested two men.
Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said that based on a tip-off, the joint team found three tankers stationed near a private dental college in Ghaziabad's Masuri area loaded with rectified spirit being used to make spurious diesel, petrol and liquor and also for hardware purposes.
All three tankers were smuggling the consignment from Lakhimpur Kheri district towards Delhi to deliver it to an oil company, the SSP said, adding that the vehicles and the consignment were impounded.
The arrested were identified as truck driver Dharamvir and buyer Rashid.
They were arrested while stealing the rectified spirit from the tanker and transferring it into drums of 200 litres each for sale.
The drivers and cleaners of the other two trucks and others involved in the illicit trade somehow ran away from the spot, the SSP said, adding that efforts are on to nab them.
They confessed to their involvement in the stealing and selling of the spirit from tankers and to minting a lot of money in the process, he said.