India, Sept. 13 -- Minutes before midnight on Thursday, a Delhi Police team lying in wait for criminals in Sangam Vihar stumbled upon a surreal sight -- three camels, each laden with heavy loads, plodding silently through the dense forest. What seemed like a lost desert caravan turned out to be an audacious bootlegging operation: more than 2,000 bottles of illegal liquor being smuggled into the Capital on camelback.

The bizarre bust exposed a new tactic deployed by liquor traffickers in the past year to outsmart police surveillance. Officers from the south district's anti-auto theft squad (AATS) intercepted the caravan and discovered cartons of liquor strapped to the animals.

Three handlers were caught on the spot, while interrogation l...