Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar informed the legislative assembly on Friday that the Maharashtra Excise Department has recorded 1,00,048 cases involving the illegal production, sale, and transport of liquor, and has arrested 72,620 individuals so far in the 2023-24 period.

In a written reply to a question raised by BJP MLA Ameet Satam, Pawar, who holds the excise portfolio, said the department also seized contraband and other material worth Rs 289 crore during the period.

According to the reply, the department registered 29,721 cases in 2023-24, arrested 20,537 persons and seized material worth Rs 69 crore.

According to the reply, the department registered 29,721 cases in 2023-24, arrested 20,537 persons and seized material worth Rs 69 crore.

Last month, approximately 20 people lost their lives in a suspected methanol-laced liquor incident in Pune’s Phugewadi, Dapodi, and Hadapsar localities.

As a result, the Maharashtra Excise Department carried out a major crackdown between May 29 and June 4, seizing illicit liquor and arresting 213 individuals in anti-liquor operations across the Thane, Palghar, and Raigad districts.