Image: Seized liquor and drugs worth kept for destruction at the Excise Directorate Complex, Dimapur on March 7, 2022. According to an official report, at total of 1,07,101 bottles of IMFL were seized in Nagaland between March 2022 to February 2023. (Morung File Photo/Handout). (Inset) Details of seizures in 2022-23)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 23
On average, over 290 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) per day were seized in Nagaland between March 2022 and February 2023, according to an official report.
During this period, a total of 1,07,101 bottles of IMFL were seized in the state, roughly translating to 293.42 bottles per day, highlighted the Annual Administrative Report (2022-2023) of the State’s Excise and Prohibition Department, tabled on the 3rd day of the 1st Session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on March 23.
Additionally, the department seized 1,16,584 cans of beer, or over 319 per day.
As per the data presented in the report, the department also seized 15,416 litres of country liquor, or 42 litres per day, from March 2022 to February 2023.
The Excise Department also seized 500 grams of heroin and 11 kilograms of ganja during this period.
Overall, there were 1,297 liquor cases and 2 narcotic & other drug cases during the period, and 1302 persons were arrested.
Meanwhile, the main functions of the Excise and Prohibition Department have shifted from revenue collection and regulatory roles to enforcement of the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 in the state, the report noted.
The department’s duties are mainly focused on preventive measures, controlling the possession, sale, consumption, manufacture, and transportation of liquor, as well as preventing the smuggling of excisable goods and other narcotic drugs in the state, it said.
The department also facilitates the procurement and supply of opium to recognized/registered users, regulates denatured spirit for industrial purposes, controls molasses, and coordinates with central agencies such as the NCB & Central Bureau of Narcotics.
The department further noted that since the introduction of the NLTP Act, 1989, its revenue earning for the government has reduced drastically.
Before the enforcement of the Act, the department’s revenue was Rs 550.90 lakh in 1988-89, which decreased drastically to Rs 110.09 lakh in 1989-90 and Rs 82.32 lakh in 1990-91.
Despite inflation and other factors, the revenue is yet to reach the pre-prohibition level and stood at Rs 383.90 lakh in 2022-23.
Out of the revenue receipts during the current financial year (2022-23), Rs 364.42 lakh were from excise duty and license fees, while the rest, Rs 19.48 lakh, were collected from fines.
The fine amount is collected from compounding of cases under Section 76 of the NLTP Act, 1989, the report said.
During 2022-23, the department destroyed 245,572 IMFL/beer cans, 310 kg of ganja, 4,375 grams of heroin, 21,557 bottles of cough syrup, 6,92,691 caps/tabs, 2,150 kg of poppy straw, and 12,000 caps of SP (Spasmo Proxyvon).
