Patna: Bootleggers are using stolen motorbikes to deliver bottles of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) to alcoholics in dry Bihar.

The startling fact came to the fore during interrogation of Mukhlal Choudhary, who was arrested from Wazirganj in Rohtas district on Wednesday. The police seized 12 bags of Rajasthan-made foreign liquor during the operation. Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Rohtas superintendent of police Satyaveer Singh raided a house at Wazirganj under Sasaram Muffasil police station and arrested Mukhlal Choudhary, an alleged smuggler.

Mukhlal, who was in the lucrative trade for the past year, reportedly revealed that stolen two-wheelers were being used to deliver consignments to alcoholics in and around Rohtas district. Five stolen motorbike were seized during the police operation against liquor smugglers. Sasaram sub-divisional police officer Rajesh Kumar said the district police have already appealed to residents to refrain from illegal activities.

Those involved in violation of the new prohibition law would be dealt with sternly, he said, adding that such raids would continue.

Earlier, SP Satyaveer had asked residents to inform police about sale, consumption and manufacture of liquor in their respective areas. The names of informers would be kept secret, he had told the residents.

In June, the police had seized over 544 bags of IMFL worth Rs 1.5 crore from an abandoned truck on the National Highway-30 in Rohtas district on Friday.

The truck, bearing a Rajasthan registration number, was found abandoned near Kalaspur village under the jurisdiction of Dinara police station in the district, around 165km southwest of Patna. The driver and cleaner, however, had escaped from the spot.