Police Intensifies Crackdown on Toxic Bootleg Alcohol Trade

CAPE TOWN – A nationwide police offensive against illicit alcohol production has exposed a R16,5 billion underground industry poisoning communities and draining state coffers, with Western Cape authorities arresting six suspects this week.

In Thursday’s coordinated raids, officers stormed a Stellenbosch farm in Faure, uncovering an industrial-scale facility stocked with capping machines, chemical-filled containers, and hundreds of counterfeit bottles.

Five Malawian nationals were detained, while a subsequent Woodstock warehouse search yielded prepackaged liquor and the arrest of a 53-year-old Chinese suspect.

The operations form part of a provincial strategy to dismantle shebeens (unlicensed bars) tied to alcohol-related violence, said Western Cape Police Commissioner Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile.

The crackdown extends beyond provincial lines: Gauteng police arrested nine foreign nationals in March 2025 after raiding a Westonaria warehouse bottling fake Smirnoff and Klipdrift brands worth R1 million.

“Employees risked their lives to expose this,” said Gauteng Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni, noting kidnapping charges against suspects accused of coercing workers.

Days before, a R10 million drug lab was busted nearby, highlighting intertwined criminal networks.

A September 8 Klapmuts operation saw seven Somalians arrested with 10,000-liter ethanol tanks and bottling systems, while a 2025 Drinks Federation of South Africa (DF-SA ) report warns bootleg liquor laced with methanol causes fatal poisonings and costs R16.5 billion in annual tax losses.

Economic desperation fuels demand for cheaper alternatives, officials say, with weak border controls enabling growth

Suspects faces court hearings  under South Africa’s Liquor Act and being illigally in the country as authorities pledge sustained raids to combat a crisis eroding public health and formal sector jobs. “This is about saving lives, not just revenue,” Patekile said.