Bootleg liquor sold to pubs
Jassmine Shadiqe
KLUANG: Bootleggers here have been using counterfeit stickers to avoid detection by the authorities and convince end buyers that their products are the real thing.
They "stamped" bottles of inferior liquor with counterfeit brand labels and Customs Department seals and stamps which showed that duty had been paid.
Their ruse was uncovered when Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Ministry enforcement officers raided their "manufacturing plant" last week, a double-storey terrace house in Taman Sunrise.
Officers seized home-mixed liquor and a bottling machine worth more than RM350,000 in total.
A source said enforcement officers from Putrajaya had received a tip off and watched the house for a month before raiding it.
The enforcement officers seized mixtures to make the liquor, Customs duty-paid stamps and seals and more than 250 pre-packed one-litre liquor bottles which bore the labels of popular whisky and brandy brands.
No arrests were made. It is believed that the bootleggers got wind of the impending raid and legged it.
Investigations revealed that the bootleggers used original liquor bottles and outsourced the printing of the labels to a local printer.
The source said the bootleggers would pour an original bottle of brandy or whisky into a pail and dilute it with cheap liquor before bottling the mixture.
The authorities have yet to determine the culprits behind the printing of the "duty paid" stamps.
It is learnt that the enforcement officers had initially raided two other premises in the vicinity and seized a small number of bootleg liquor before they hit the jackpot.
The source said the bootleg liquor was sold to pub owners. He said the pub owners would sell original liquor to patrons for their first drink but might switch to the bootlegged version after that.
The source said that apart from entertainment outlets, one-litre bottles of liquor are available at duty-free shops.
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