Of these, 27,123 people have been convicted, the information sought under the RTI Act said.

An excise police official said most of those arrested in violation of the MLTP Act were the same persons.

“They were arrested, convicted and came out of jail after serving the terms and got back into their business. There were a few liquor dealers who quit the trade of their own will, but there was hardly anyone who quit due to the punishment they got for the offence,” the official said.

The department also earned a revenue of Rs 4,77,32,162 in connection with MLTP Act violations from February 20, 1997 till April 31, 2011, the records said.

The department also seized 1,19,727 kgs of yeast, whose monetary value according to the local market rate, was Rs 5,98,63,500.

However, since the seized yeast was destroyed by the court, no actual cash was received from this.

Meanwhile, there are 2007 persons, who have 'licence to drink' in Mizoram which has been under the dry law for 14 years now.

“Of these, 1838 are ex-servicemen and the remaining 169 are civilians, who are permitted to drink on health grounds,” official sources said.