An Excise team seized about 1,000 litres of toddy mixed with spirit and 7 litres of spirit from a toddy shop at Panamanna near Ottapalam on Thursday. Two persons were arrested in this connection.
The shop owner, Somasundaran K., 45, and worker Sasikumar M., 45, were arrested while another worker escaped. The excise team raided the shop in the morning and found 1,000 litres of toddy mixed with spirit in a pickup vehicle in front of the shop. The adulterated toddy was stored in five barrels.
Officials said the raid took place when the shop owner and the two workers were mixing the spirit with the toddy. They said the spirit had been sourced from Thrissur.
Excise officials said that spirit was being smuggled in to produce spurious liquor as toddy was in shortage when the shops reopened after lifting the lockdown restrictions.
