Police raid nets two truckloads of illicit alcohol

Zim Now Writer

Police in Bulawayo yesterday busted illegal liquor dealers, confiscating a huge consignment that needed two seven-tonne truckloads to move the njegu.

Njegu is street lingo for illicit spirits that are produced illegally within and without Zimbabwe, outside of the approved and regulated production process of registered and legitimate manufacturers.

This comes as cases of the abuse of harmful substances, which include drugs and alcohol, especially among youths have been spiking at an alarming rate.

The brew doesn’t comply with standards that ensure the quality and safety of products.

Roughly 25 percent of all alcohol consumed around the world is illicit, it is believed, while drinking it could cause sickness or even death.

Officer Commanding Bulawayo Central District Chief Superintendent Vusumuzi Nkomo said time is up for all the illicit distributors of alcohol.

“We have arrested two stockists who have been charged with operating without a liquor licence and also selling. Some of the spirits we suspect are produced outside the country and are brought into the country in large quantities to these distributors.

“We want to warn other distributors who are around the city that we are going to be out in full force raiding them.

“They should stop distributing these illegal products because they are a threat to our communities,” said Chief Sup Nkomo.

Police are deploying their intelligence teams to give them real time data in identifying and arresting the njengu dealers, he said.

Chief Sup Nkomo said police also believe that some of the alcohol that was recovered could be counterfeits of locally produced brands.

“From the products sold here there is the Star Brandy, originally produced by African Distillers (Afdis), but we suspect that criminals scan the (Afdis) sticker and use it with this illicit brew that is sold mostly to youths.”

He said the unregulated alcohol is also producing social misfits who commit heinous crimes such as murder and rape while the abuse of alcohol has also led to some people suffering mental illnesses and some end up being destitute.