In a bizarre turn of events, a horse has been caught by police in Bihar while smuggling alcohol! The horse carrying few cartons of liquor was intercepted by Nautan Police during a raid near the Gandak river in Bihar’s West Champaran district on Tuesday.

Though the horse and liquor were seized, the smugglers managed to escape. Around 3 am on Tuesday, a team from Nautan Police Station intercepted the horse along the riverside. However, the smuggler managed to escape, taking advantage of the darkness.

The horse was carrying at least 50 litres of Indian-made foreign liquor on its back, which has been recovered and brought to Nautan Police Station. By the time the police team managed catch one horse, few more horses carrying more cartons of alcohol successfully crossed the river. According to the police, the liquor was being transported from Uttar Pradesh on horseback.

“During a raid yesterday, we recovered 49.95 litres of alcohol on a horse. The liquor smuggler fled from the spot, but we have identified him and will arrest him soon. The horse will be given to a responsible person who can care for it. We will also inform the court about the same,” Rajesh Kumar, SHO Nautan Police Station told ANI.

The horse is currently being taken care of by a local resident to whom it has been handed over by the police temporarily.

Two months ago, another horse was taken into custody from the same police station limits. On that occasion, the accused, identified as Ram Babu Paswan. was arrested with the consignment. The horse was returned to its owner after completing the legal procedures, informed the police.

#WATCH | Bettiah, Bihar: In the West Champaran district of Bihar, the police have seized a horse that was being used to smuggle liquor and recovered about 50 litres of alcohol loaded on the horse.

Rajesh Kumar, SHO Nautan PS says “During a raid yesterday, we recovered 49.95… pic.twitter.com/NcTcaMFers

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2025

New modus operandi for smuggling alcohol into a dry state

Manufacturing, transportation, storage and sale of liquor is completely banned in Bihar under the Excise and Prohibition Act 2016. Bihar being a dry state, smugglers often source alcohol from neighbouring states like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal! Smugglers have changed their modus operandi and are using horses for transportation of alcohol from the neighbouring states.

While motorbikes and cars are the preferred modes of transport for alcohol smugglers, oil tankers and trucks having separate storage facilities are also used to transport banned consignments.

However, with increased patrolling on the roads, liquor smugglers now prefer to trick the police by transporting the banned consignment through the Gandak riverine belt.