Horses, Trains & Hidden Compartments: Bihar's Booze Smugglers Get Creative
Police in Bihar recently took a horse into custody. This unusual arrest happened in West Champaran's Bettiah area. Officers from Nautan police station acted on a tip-off. They intercepted a smuggler in the Makri Tola region. The smuggler was transporting liquor from Uttar Pradesh toward Motihari. He was not using a motorcycle or car. Instead, he rode on horseback.
During the search, police recovered twenty-nine litres of liquor. The alcohol was hidden in a sack strapped to the animal. An officer explained the reasoning behind this method. Horses can move quietly through fields and along narrow riverbanks. They avoid the intensified road checks that have made motorcycles risky. The engine noise and headlights of bikes often attract attention.
Seasonal Smuggling and Railway Tricks
On the same day as the horse seizure, police in Gopalganj uncovered another smuggling attempt. This one exploited seasonal commerce. The discovery coincided with the Makar Sankranti festival on January thirteenth. Kuchaykot police seized nine hundred twenty-seven litres of foreign liquor. The alcohol was hidden inside cartons of jaggery. Jaggery is a festival staple widely used during Makar Sankranti.
Police stopped the pickup vehicle based on specific intelligence. The consignment was coming from Uttar Pradesh. In a separate incident last week, the Railway Protection Force made a significant bust. They found a consignment hidden in the engine room of a passenger train at Buxar Railway Station.
The liquor was carefully concealed inside empty spaces in the engine room. Some bottles were placed near technical equipment areas. These areas have restricted access. Officials recovered fifty-one bottles of various whiskey brands from the train.
A Pattern of Inventive Concealment
These cases reflect a wider pattern in Bihar. The state has been dry since 2016. It is neighboured by non-dry states. Over the years, enforcement agencies have uncovered liquor hidden in many surprising places.
Common methods include:
- School vans and ambulances
- Milk tankers and oil tankers
- Tractors with underground compartments
- Vehicles disguised as essential service vans
In March last year, Banka police intercepted a school van. The vehicle appeared unusually heavy. Officers discovered over three hundred litres of liquor. It was concealed under seats and in a hidden compartment on the roof.
An officer from the prohibition unit shared more details. Smugglers have modified motorcycles to store liquor in the main fuel tank. They run the vehicle using a smaller auxiliary petrol box hidden beneath the seat. In Gopalganj, authorities found hollowed-out LPG cylinders used to stash bottles. Water supply tankers and oil tankers have been fitted with special compartments. These compartments can hide thousands of litres of alcohol.
Everyday Goods and Bizarre Cases
Liquor has also been concealed within everyday goods. The prohibition officer noted several examples.
- Paint buckets and pesticide containers
- Pickle consignments and edible oil cartons
- Wall putty sacks and bundles of clothing
In Muzaffarpur, a consignment was found hidden among cartons of painkiller medicines. In Katihar, a woman was arrested for concealing liquor inside her burqa. More unusual methods continue to emerge.
Smugglers have used rubber tubes pulled by ropes to cross rivers. They have stored bottles inside toilet flush tanks. Some have even hidden liquor in cow dung cakes. In East Champaran, a container truck meant for transporting new cars was found carrying concealed liquor alongside vehicles.
One of the most bizarre cases was reported earlier from Chapra. Around four thousand litres of liquor were seized from coffins used for transport.
Train Travel and Official Data
In August 2025, authorities made another train-related discovery. They found three hundred sixteen whiskey bottles hidden inside the AC duct of a coach. The express train was travelling from Uttar Pradesh to Bihar. The discovery happened after passengers complained of poor cooling. Technicians found the bottles obstructing the airflow.
Subsequently, a coach attendant from Khagaria was arrested. He admitted to regularly smuggling liquor from Uttar Pradesh. He sold it at double the price in Bihar. The scale of the problem is reflected in official data.
Bihar police seize around ten thousand litres of liquor on average every day. Since prohibition was enforced, close to three crore litres have been seized. In 2025 alone, seizures stood at thirty-six point three nine lakh litres. This was about one point seven eight lakh litres more than the previous year.
As enforcement tightens, the smugglers' methods grow more inventive. The battle over prohibition in Bihar remains a test of ingenuity. It challenges both law enforcement and those trying to bypass the dry state laws.
