Excise officials from Wayanad took 38-year-old Anto Augustine, managing director of Malayalam news channel Reporter TV, into custody on Thursday (September 17, 2026) morning for allegedly possessing liquor beyond the legal limit.
He was detained around 5 am from the channel office at Kalamassery in Ernakulam. The move follows reports that 67 liters of liquor was recovered from his ancestral residence in Muttil South village, Vithiri Taluk, Wayanad during a search operation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Wednesday (September 16, 2026), which was more than the permissible possession limit. The SIT is investigating alleged financial fraud related to a failed bid to fly Argentina and Lionel Messi to Kochi for an international friendly match last year.
Sharfudin T, Excise Divisional Inspector, Kalpetta Excise District Office, filed an incident report in connection with a case registered under the Abkari Act in the First Class Magistrate Court at Sultan Bathery, Wayanad, early Thursday morning. The accused has been charged under Sections 55(a), 55(i) and 58 of the Kerala Abkari Act.
An excise team led by an assistant commissioner arrived at the Reporter TV office to take Mr. Augustine into custody. After medical examination, Augustine will be taken to Wayanad and produced before the Sultan Bathery First Class Magistrate Court in Wayanad, excise sources said.
At first, Augustine reportedly insisted that he be shown a report of the incident. Although the excise officials showed him the digital copy, he insisted on a hard copy, following which Perumbavoor Excise Inspector Manoj Kumar came to the office with a copy.
The SIT conducted day-long search operations at five locations in Ernakulam and Wayanad districts on Wednesday.
According to SIT sources, digital gadgets, documents, foreign currency and 67 liters of liquor were seized during the searches. The operations were carried out on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Kalamassery police after preliminary investigation revealed prima facie grounds for a cognizable crime. Mr Augustine was the first accused as the authorized signatory of Reporter Broadcasting Private Limited and the company was the second accused.
According to the FIR, the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy dating back to December 20, 2024, when “illegal and false” details were included in an agreement signed with the Argentine Football Association to defraud the state government and the public for profiteering purposes. The FIR also alleged that the accused conspired to obtain custody of the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor by securing release of bail of ₹5 crore on September 26, 2025.
Published – Sep 17, 2026 09:44 EST.
