{
  "id": 13248801,
  "title": "Huge quantity of PDS rice seized in crackdown",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/huge-quantity-of-pds-rice-seized-in-crackdown",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T23:08:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/huge-quantity-of-pds-rice-seized-in-crackdown/article71565135.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A three-day crackdown against black market syndicates in Karnataka has led to the seizure of 564.99 tonnes of rice, valued at an estimated ₹1.34 crore. This coordinated effort by the Food and Civil Supplies Department, along with Commercial Taxes, Agricultural Marketing, Police, and Excise departments, uncovered a widespread smuggling operation. Six criminal cases were registered under the Essential Commodities Act, 1981, against nine individuals. Transport vehicles worth ₹3.41 crore were also seized. An international smuggling racket from Bengaluru Rural district was exposed, with a lorry intercepted at Attebele carrying 35,000 kg of rice, packaged under the trade name 'WoW' for export to Africa. The investigation revealed that Mandya-based Annapurneshwari Enterprises had sold rice to Madhya Pradesh's Sailar Exports Ltd, exceeding their legitimate purchase record from FCI. In Lokur village, 4.22 lakh kg of PDS rice worth ₹98.67 lakh was seized, along with three Maharashtra-bound lorries carrying 71,800 kg of repackaged PDS rice. Another 35,391 kg of rice was seized from an abandoned truck in Vijayapura, highlighting the extensive scale of this black market operation.",
  "summary": "Investigation revealed that Mandya-based Annapurneshwari Enterprises had purchased rice from local FCI godown and sold it to Madhya Pradesh based Sailar Exports Ltd, to be shipped out of Chennai.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}