Spirit smugglers in truck break toll plaza barricade near Ernakulam, dodge excise team multiple times

 The team lead by circle inspector Tony Jose tried to nab a spirit smuggler with his load parked in the parking lot of a hotel near Ernakulam-Thrissur Border.

Paliyekkara: What transpired on the highways of Ernakulam was nothing short of a Bollywood movie chase sequence. A light truck chased by the excise squad spread through Paliyekkara Toll Plaza breaking the barricades of the toll booth. The spirit smugglers managed to dodge three parties of police trying to stop them at three different junctions.

The incident occurred around 3am on Monday. The team lead by circle inspector Tony Jose tried to nab a spirit smuggler with his load parked in the parking lot of a hotel near Ernakulam-Thrissur Border. Upon seeing the officers, the driver fled the scene with the load.

The excise officers chased them in their vehicle.  The truck later on had to face the barrier at Paliyekkara Toll Plaza, which the driver decided to drive through, breaking the barricade. Police tried to stop the fleeing smugglers at several points on the national highway.

Near Thrissur Kuthiran Kumbala area, police again tried to intercept the smugglers, but they managed to escape. At last the spirit truck turned towards the Mangalam Dam area after which the truck disappeared. Police are still trying to locate the missing truck.