Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku [email protected]
COMRADES Beverages (Private) Limited has been convicted and sentenced to pay US$800 fine for illegally manufacturing and selling liquor without a licence and operating an unauthorised factory.
The company, represented by its managing director, Mr Langa Bright Moyo, appeared on Wednesday before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Themba Chimiso, who convicted the business after it pleaded guilty to the charges.
On the count of selling liquor without a licence in contravention of Section 113(1)(a) of the Liquor Act, the company was fined US$300.
The court combined the original first and third counts into one. On the combined count of occupying and using an unauthorized factory and breaching environmental regulations relating to hazardous substances, Comrades Beverages was fined US$500.
In passing the sentence, Mr Chimiso strongly urged the company to comply with all operational regulations to ensure it could continue operating lawfully. He also stated that by producing illicit alcohol, they were putting the lives of consumers at risk.
Prosecuting, Mr Samuel Mpofu, told the court that on June 10, police detectives from Drugs and Narcotics section conducted a compliance inspection at the company’s premises in Bulawayo’s city centre where the company was allegedly manufacturing alcohol from.
The detectives identified themselves to Mr Moyo before carrying out the inspection and found out that liquor was being manufactured at premises that were not registered and did not have the required certification to operate as a factory.
Detectives also established that the company was selling various alcoholic beverages in and around Bulawayo without the requisite liquor licence.
During the raid, detectives recovered 96 bottles of Highlanders African Gin, 85 unbranded bottles of liquor, 156 bottles of Kalahari African Gin, as well as manufacturing equipment.
They also seized 600 litres of ethanol, which the company was storing without the required Environmental Management Agency (EMA) permit or storage certificate.
The recovered illicit alcohol and ethanol were forfeited to the state.
