SAPS Confiscates R640 000 in Liquor Amid Continued Restrictions
- Amid the liquor ban a major bust has been made against a company attempting to move a sizable quantity of alcohol
- The SA Police Service confirmed that alcohol with an estimated street value of R640 000 has been seized
- The suspects arrested for violating the lockdown restriction are set to appear in court
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The South African Police Service has confirmed that a major bust has taken place in the Western Cape.
Source: UGC
In a statement released on Wednesday, the authorities confirmed that a staggering R640 000 in liquor had been confiscated:
"After monitoring vital information for some time about illegal liquor trading from a farm in Paarl and at a premises at Airport Industria, Cape Town, Crime Intelligence operatives assisted by Anti-Gang Unit members bust a truckload of liquor on Tuesday afternoon. Nine suspects aged between 26 and 55 were arrested."
At Airport Industria, the authorities had discovered a storage facility equipped with security uniforms, safes, forklifts and more boxes of liquor stashed away.
The police confirmed that the suspects have all been charged with contravening lockdown regulations:
"The suspects have been charged for contravening the Disaster Management Act regulations in relation to the selling, dispensing and distributing alcohol. All arrested suspects are expected to appear in the Bishop Lavis court today."
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that the national lockdown ban on liquor could see the nation's glass packaging industry taking another R1.5 billion knock.
This after the restrictions returned for the third time as part of the effort to reduce the strain on the healthcare system amid the current pandemic.
The first bans collectively saw losses of over R1.5 billion in the industry alone, a massive strain over and above the challenges of the crisis.
Mike Arnold, Consol CEO, spoke to TimesLIVE to warn of another wave of job losses both at Consol and along its supply chain.
An extended ban, according to Arnold, would be nothing short of catastrophic to the company which supplies the liquor industry with packaging.
Currently, it's costing Consol R8 million on a daily basis to keep production and furnaces running despite the lack of orders.
While debt is spiralling the company is holding off on suspending or cancelling investments, which would ultimately depend on the duration of the ban.
However, a staggering R800 million has been redirected from repairing furnaces to maintaining operations instead.
This move means that the company will not be able to afford to repair furnaces at the end of their lifespans, even if demand recovers.
The slump in demand saw Consol suspending the construction of a new R1.5 billion manufacturing plant, with SA Breweries opting to cancel a R2.5 billion investment.
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Source: Briefly News
