Patna: A police team from Gopalganj district in north Bihar seized around 2,100 litres of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) being transported in a fuel tanker from Punjab to Bihar.

Acting on a tip-off, the team intercepted the container near Kritpura village under the jurisdiction of Baikunthpur police station on Friday night. The police found 236 cartons of liquor instead of fuel in the container.

Gopalganj superintendent of police (SP) Raviranjan said the police initially thought the information was misleading. But they were proved right when the police intercepted the oil container on national highway-28 and seized the alcohol manufactured in Punjab.

The police arrested the driver and cleaner of the oil tanker. "Efforts are on ascertain the identity of the man, who had booked the consignment from Punjab. The seized consignment of alcohol and fuel container has been taken to the Baikunthpur police station of the district," the SP told The Telegraph.

The SP said this is for the first time such a modus operandi has come to the fore. "The cops are baffled," he said.

In Begusarai, a truck laden with bags of rice was seized from Sahebpur Kamal police station area as it was allegedly being used to ferry liquor. The truck driver lost control and fell into a ditch after the police chased the vehicle.

Begusarai superintendent of police (SP) Aditya Kumar said the consignment was to be delivered to a man at Iniyar village. The truck's driver and cleaner have been detained for interrogation.

Earlier, bootleggers had used fake Indian Army permits to ferry alcohol from Punjab to north Bihar. It came to the fore when an excise team seized a truck bearing a fake Nagaland registration number at Jalalpur check post in Gopalganj district early this month. A senior excise official said the truck had entered Gopalganj from Uttar Pradesh. Acting on a tip off, excise department personnel intercepted it in an area under the jurisdiction of Kuchaikot police station and seized 300 cartons of liquor worth Rs 25 lakh.

"Liquor smugglers have devised different ways to keep the tipplers happy," the officer said. "From tomatoes to water melon, fuel containers to trucks laden with potatoes they use various methods to transport liquor from Punjab and Haryana."

Sources said illegal trade is facilitated by agents who coordinate with the smugglers in Punjab and Haryana.