Muzaffarpur: The excise department has mooted a plan to set up two permanent check posts and six other temporary and makeshift checkpoints to check bootleggers involved in smuggling foreign liquor.

Excise superintendent Dinbandhu told The Telegraph that the department was cracking down on restricting smugglers and subsequent seizure of illegal consignment.

"Smuggling of foreign liquor from Haryana, Punjab, Assam, Bengal and Jharkhand continue to pose a big challenge for the department," said Dinbandhu. "More than 25 syndicates of bootleggers and the districts of north Bihar are active and using national highways to ferry out liquor consignment through NH-28, NH-77, NH-57 and other states highways. Sometimes bootleggers use countryside routes to transport liquor consignments," he added.

District magistrate (DM) Mohammad Sohail Ahmed, assisted by senior superintendent of police Harprit Kaur, outlined a massive plan to curb bootlegging and smuggling.

The DM, in an interface with excise officials, station house officers, block development officers and circle officers, asked them to speed up surveillance and raid the possible hideouts of bootleggers.

The DM said the excise department would soon set up two permanent and six other makeshift checkpoints for physical verification of small and big commercial vehicles carrying liquor in the guise of other goods.

He added that the proposal for opening up checkpoints to crack on bootleggers has been sent to the state government.

The DM said these checkpoints would work round-the-clock for surveillance purposes. He directed that after people are caught red-handed after breathalyser test, the team concerned should collect four blood samples of wrongdoers.

Two blood samples should be sent to the hospital for necessary test, while the two other blood samples should be kept in reserve. Vehicles used by them too should be seized and process must be initiated to cancel their registration and other action.

The DM directed police officers to intensify patrolling around roundabouts, schools and bank premises.