Lakshadweep Tuna fish scam: CBI books NCP MP Mohammed Faizal, his nephew
New Delhi, Jul 12: The CBI has booked Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal under corruption charges for alleged irregularities in the export of Tuna fish to a Sri Lankan company represented by his nephew, officials said Tuesday.
The NCP MP's nephew Abdul Razik Thangal and the Colombo-based company SRT General Merchants that he represented have also been named in the FIR as accused, the officials said.
The agency on Tuesday conducted searches at the residence of Faizal in Delhi, Calicut and Lakshadweep, they said.
Faizal did not respond to messages requesting his response.
The CBI had conducted joint surprise checks after getting inputs of alleged corruption in last week of June.
The checks showed that during 2016-17, Faizal gave a false Lakshadweep Cooperative Marketing Federation (LCMF) Ltd that a foreign buyer SRT General Merchants Importers and Exporters, is willing to import dried Tuna fish at a higher price than the prevailing rate, the CBI FIR said.
Board of Directors of LCMF, in its meeting on November 21, 2016 decided to procure the fish from local fishermen, the FIR alleged.
They procured 287 MT of the fish from them of different islands of Lakshadweep through co-operative societies of islands on the assurance that fishermen will get prices higher than the prevailing market rate, it said.
M P Anwar, the then Managing Director, LCMF, also named as accused, without following norms and without floating any tender and merely relying on the assurance of Faizal proceeded with the purchase, the FIR said.
Faizal fixed the Tuna fish exporter Accelerated Freeze Drying Company (AFDC) based in Cochin, Kerala through LCMF for exporting the fish, it alleged.
The said project was not materialized due to refusal of AFDC as it did not receive Rs 60 lakh for the first consignment of the fish which was to be exported to the Sri Lankan company.
"Cochin-based AFDC suffered a loss of about Rs 60 lakh and also it did not continue the lifting of fish through LCMF, as per the agreement. The poor fishermen of Lakshadweep Islands and LCMF have faced a loss of money to the tune of approximately Rs 9 crore," the FIR said.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
