Despite the implementation of prohibition law in Bihar, smugglers are continuing their activities. Under the prohibition law, police seized lakhs of liters of liquor in 2025. State Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar said that more than 3.63 million liters of liquor was seized in 2025, while more than 125,000 people were arrested for violating the prohibition law.
According to the DGP, despite the complete prohibition law being implemented in Bihar nine years ago, a continuous campaign is being run to stop the illegal liquor trade. The liquor seized in 2025 includes 1.899 million liters of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and 1.739 million liters of country liquor. Apart from this, 131,628 liters of illicit liquor was also seized.
1,25,456 arrests in 2025
Vinay Kumar said that a total of 1,25,456 people were arrested for breaking the prohibition law in 2025, while in 2024 the number was 1,21,671. This shows an increase of about three percent in arrests compared to 2024. He said that both seizures and arrests have increased by 25 to 30 percent.
In April 2016, the Bihar government enacted a law completely banning the production, storage, transportation, trade, sale and use of liquor in the state. However, despite strict rules of law, incidents of liquor smuggling and deaths due to alcohol poisoning have been reported from time to time.
The DGP said that special vigil is being kept on liquor traders to prevent incidents of liquor poisoning. He also said that there were no major alcohol-related accidents in 2025, which is believed to be the result of police vigilance and constant monitoring.
Targeting properties of liquor smugglers
To economically weaken the illicit liquor trade, the police are now targeting properties of smugglers and traders. The DGP said that 289 people who made money from the illicit liquor trade in 2025 have been identified and action will be taken against them under section 107 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with confiscation, confiscation or recovery of property connected with crime.
Besides this, the Special Operation Group (SOG) conducted a total of 38 inter-state operations against liquor smuggling last year. These included 15 operations in Jharkhand, 17 in Uttar Pradesh, four in Chhattisgarh and two in Madhya Pradesh. During these operations, 29 big vehicles, 26 small vehicles and 227,182 liters of liquor were seized. The DGP said this figure is much higher than the only four operations conducted by the prohibition unit in 2024 and the 28,210 liters of liquor seized in them, which shows the proactivity of the police and the intensity of the action.
