Online sale of liquor, as proposed by Consumerfed, the apex body of the consumer co-operatives in Kerala, will be against the Excise laws of the state, said Excise Commissioner Rishiraj Singh.

“The proposal is against excise rule and public interest and if implemented, it will destroy the youths of the state,” he told reporters in Kanhangad on Tuesday.

The top officer said licences to ConsumerFed and Bevco to sell liquor were given to buildings and their premises. “When there is no permission to sell liquor outside the premises, how can it be sold online,” he said.

Apart from that, he said, liquor could not be sold to persons below the age of 21 years, to leprosy patients and those who are terminally ill, according to the law. “When liquor is sold online, how will that be monitored or implemented,” he asked.

Singh said number of abkari cases would increase in near future. In 2014, 962 cases were filed, but in the first eight months of 2016, 1,600 abkari cases were filed.

In Kasargod, 350 kg of ganja was seized in the past two months, compared with 260kg seized in the rest of the state, he said. On Tuesday, another 5.2 kg of ganja was seized at Manjeshwaram and one person was arrested, he said. Officers said the contraband was being smuggled in a Karnataka SRTC bus and they valued it at Rs 1.5 lakh.

Since Singh took charge two months ago, 5,811 persons were arrested in connection with violation of abkari laws across the state.