Bhubaneswar: Seven men were arrested with 5,200 litres of illicit liquor, being smuggled in four SUVs, at Singada Bhoi Sahi in Balianta area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Thursday, said excise official Raj Sekhar Swain.Besides the SUVs, the officials also seized three motorcycles, 6.4 lakh cash and an unlicenced firearm from the possession of accused Kishan Kumar Nayak, Soumya Prakash Nayak, Deepak Kumar Nayak, Sonu Sahoo, Krushna Dehury, Sonu Samal and Jitendra Behera.The arrests were made during a raid conducted by a special excise team. Officials said the team had been tracking the activities of the group following information about the transportation and sale of illicit liquor in and around the city. “During the investigation, we found that one of the accused had purchased two expensive cars from the profits of the illegal liquor trade. The accused prepared the liquor in Athagarh area of Cuttack district and planned to transport and sell it in Bhubaneswar,” Swain said.Officials said the SUVs were allegedly being used to transport the illicit liquor from the manufacturing location to Bhubaneswar while attempting to evade detection by enforcement agencies.The excise department is conducting further investigation to identify others involved in the preparation, transportation and distribution of the illicit liquor. Officials are also probing the source of the unlicensed firearm seized during the operation.