The excise department carried out a raid in Guwahati on the intervening night between July 16 and 17 against the illicit trafficking of liquor from Meghalaya into Assam and seized several alcohol bottles.

The move was aimed at curbing the illicit flow of low-priced liquor into Assam from neighbouring state of Meghalaya. Often traffickers escape paying any excise duty on such outside-the-book imports to rake in profits.

As such, the sleuths set up a checkpoint at Guwahati's Khanapara - the inlet into the city for Meghalaya vehicles. According to officials, there are several gangs involved in the unlawful practice of smuggling in alcohol through this route.

This has cost the state huge losses in terms of excise collection with alcohol sales among the highest-grossing sources. As such, the raid was carried out today to curb the smuggling of liquor into Assam.

During the raids, several vehicles entering the city from Meghalaya were checked and large numbers of alcohol bottles were seized by the officials. The raids also served as an awareness drive and a timely reminder for the people to help curb the menace, added the officials.