Excise officials nabbed Motipur resident Devendra Rai, who was running a country liquor manufacturing business, near Maithi toll plaza on the Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga road on Monday.

Two gallons of crude spirit and a bottle of Indian-made foreign liquor were seized from the sports utility vehicle in which he was travelling.

Excise sleuths had laid a trap for Devendra after seizing 5,200 litres of crude spirit from a truck near the toll plaza, around 100km north of Patna, at 11am. The consignment was en route from Bengal to Muzaffarpur.

The officials also seized 50 packets of local salt and other raw materials used in making liquor from the truck.

On being quizzed, arrested truck driver Jitendra Kumar revealed that the spirit was to be delivered to places in Muzaffarpur and East Champaran districts, where it would be used to brew illicit country liquor.

Excise superintendent Amit Kumar said the driver initially feigned ignorance about the consignment and cracked only after sustained interrogation. Excise officials then asked him to call up his handler and say that his truck had broken down and he needed help.

After getting the call, Devendra came to the spot in his SUV around 11.30am, when he was arrested.

Devendra is a history-sheeter and excise officials said about a dozen cases, including some dealing with illegal manufacturing of country liquor, were pending against him in Motipur area, around 28km west of Muzaffarpur town.

Apart from Devendra and Jitendra, excise officials also nabbed four more people travelling in the truck smuggling crude spirit.

Excise superintendent Amit Kumar said all the arrested were produced in a local court that remanded them to judicial custody.