Police raided a farmhouse on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city and arrested 15 persons, including 13 African nationals, for allegedly consuming liquor during a party, and later apprehended five more individuals, an official said on Saturday.
Out of nearly 70 people present at the venue, 15, including 13 African students, were found drunk during the late-night raid on Friday at the farmhouse in the Shilaj area and they were placed under arrest, he said.
Five others, including two bootleggers and the farmhouse owner, were nabbed in the early hours of Saturday, taking the number of those apprehended in connection with the party to 20, Superintendent of Police (SP), Ahmedabad-Rural, Om Prakash Jat told reporters.
A preliminary probe revealed the liquor party was organised in the garb of a get together meant for African students currently studying in various colleges and universities in Gujarat, where the sale and consumption of liquor is banned, Jat informed.
After receiving a tip-off about availability of alcohol at the event, police personnel purchased passes and entered the venue as guests in civil dress, he said.
"Based on a specific tip-off, police teams raided a farmhouse in the city's Shilaj area and nabbed 15 persons, including 13 African nationals, in drunk state. These African nationals are studying in different universities of the state, including the Gujarat University," said the SP.
During the raid, police recovered 51 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and 15 'hookahs' (waterpipes used to smoke specially made tobacco mixtures), which are also banned in Gujarat, said Jat.
While a majority of the foreign students were from Kenya, some hailed from Comoros, Madagascar and Mozambique, according to the police officer.
Five others who were nabbed afterwards included two local bootleggers -- Anant Kapil and Ashish Jadeja -- and farmhouse owner Milan Patel, said the SP.
"The get together was meant for African students and it was organised by a Kenyan student. The prices of passes for the event ranged from Rs 700 to Rs 25,000. A liquor party was organised in the farmhouse in the garb of a get together. However, we did not find any narcotics substance during the raid," said Jat.
Those arrested were booked under relevant sections of the Gujarat Prohibition Act and under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for hatching a criminal conspiracy, said the officer.
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