The Honeydew Police’s persistence to eradicate the illegal sale of alcohol and non-compliance by licensed owners, resulted in the formation of a liquor forum.
The station management recently met with legal liquor dealers to form the forum which will be used as a platform to discuss liquor licence regulations on a monthly basis.
Honeydew Police spokesperson, Captain Balan Muthan indicated that for the next meeting on 9 November, they have invited representatives from the Liqour Board to provide guidance in terms of the legal framework pertaining to liquor licensing.
“The reason for the invitation is that we have a lot of legal shebeen and tavern owners in the area who find themselves on the wrong side of the law in the event they contravene the act,” he said.
Another reason for the invitation was to deal with the so-called ‘legal’ shebeen and tavern owners who have obtained their licences fraudulently.
To prove their seriousness, Muthan went on record to confirm that they had arrested and charged over 50 illegal liquor traders in the precinct – with most cases coming from Cosmo City and Zandspruit.
“We are taking this matter very seriously as it is a known fact that liquor contributes a lot to violent crimes,” he said.
Muthan also warned that their hard-working reaction units will continue to be on the ground to sweep out any illegal liquor outlet and crime in general.
