Vadodara: The Vadodara Rural Police has booked five people linked to a bootlegging network under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GUJCTOC) Act, including family members of known bootlegger Rakesh alias Lala Jaiswal, who were arrested on Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday.

As per the FIR filed at the Varnama police station, Jaiswal, along with his wife, son, and brother, has been booked for allegedly operating an organised crime syndicate engaged in the smuggling and sale of illicit liquor.

All five accused were detained from their residence in Ratanpura and produced before a magistrate on Wednesday. According to the police, a total of 33 FIRs have been filed against the accused so far — including 31 against Jaiswal himself. His brother Hitesh alias Pappu faces 12 cases, wife Seema seven, son Sachin five, and associate Rajesh Baria alias Khanna three. The charges range from attempt to murder, forgery, assault on police, criminal intimidation, conspiracy, rioting, and grievous assault, to multiple offences under the Prohibition Act.

The syndicate is suspected to be part of a larger network involved in smuggling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from states such as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Daman, and Himachal Pradesh into Gujarat.

Jaiswal had previously been detained twice under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act, while his wife, brother, and son had each been detained once for similar offences. DeshGujarat