Fake Whisky Worth Rs 11.55 Lakh Seized in Pune, Ahilyanagar; Three Arrested
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 30th October 2026: The state excise department has arrested three men and seized liquor worth ₹11.55 lakh during an operation in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts, according to State Excise Superintendent Ravikiran Kole.
Kole said a team from the Narayangaon excise division received a tip-off while patrolling on October 30 that suspected counterfeit liquor had been stored for sale at Bangarwadi, within the limits of Belhe village in Junnar taluka.
The team found 96 sealed bottles of suspected counterfeit Royal Stag whisky, valued at ₹24,000, and 5,040 bottles of GM Santra country liquor, valued at ₹4.03 lakh. The total value of the stock seized there was ₹4.27 lakh, Kole said.
Based on information provided by the arrested men, officers recovered more suspected counterfeit liquor from Alkuti village in Parner taluka, Ahilyanagar district. The stock included 1,392 bottles labelled Royal Stag and 1,728 bottles labelled Imperial Blue, collectively valued at ₹7.28 lakh. The whisky bottles allegedly bore counterfeit caps and labels.
Kole identified the arrested men as Sachin Ganpat Gadge, 40, and Tahir Yusuf Sheikh, 43, both residents of Nimgaon Sava in Junnar taluka, and Sagar Ramdas Borude, 27, of Alkuti in Parner taluka.
A case has been registered against them under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949. Inspector Sharad Jadhav of the Narayangaon excise division is conducting the further investigation, Kole said.
