KZN man allegedly manufactures spirit alcohol in his backyard

A KwaZulu-Natal man, who is allegedly manufacturing spirit alcohol in his Umlazi house, was arrested with more than 127,000 alcohol bottle caps at King Shaka International Airport.

Xolani Demistrose Mlaba, 41, was allegedly coming from Beijing, China, when he was arrested at the airport on November 21 2022.

Mlaba allegedly approached a police officer and offered a bribe of R10,000 for the release of his cargo from the cargo terminal, according to a source.

However, Mlaba was arrested on the spot, and his cargo was seized by the police. 

Mlaba was charged with corruption for bribing the police officer and charged with having illicit goods. 

A source close to the investigation told TimesLIVE Premium that after the arrest, the verification of Mlaba’s residential address led to a big discovery. 

Police were allegedly given two addresses by Mlaba: Umlazi C and N. While nothing was found in N-section, the source said when the police arrived at a house in Umlazi C, an alleged “alcohol-manufacturing factory” was discovered in his garage. 

“There were more than 30 twenty-litre drums, which were connected by different pipes to about 10 barrels. In the same house, there were a lot of empty bottles from different alcohol brands. The bottles were clean, and it was understood that alcohol manufacturers would dispose of those bottles and he would seal them with the caps he went to buy in China.

“If sealed with the new bottle caps, the consumer would think it was an original bottle because when you open it, it makes that sound that it has never been opened before,” said a source. 

It is alleged empty bottles are obtained using recycling, where they are collected, cleaned and reused. 

Police confiscated substances found at the house as evidence, the source said.

One liquor manufacturer confirmed that the bottle caps bearing their logo intercepted at the airport were fake.

—  Col Robert Netshiunda, KZN provincial police spokesperson

Col Robert Netshiunda, a spokesperson for the KZN provincial police, confirmed that King Shaka police are investigating a case of corruption and bribery.

He confirmed that a search at the suspect’s two residences in Umlazi led to the discovery of various brands of liquor suspected to be counterfeit. 

“One liquor manufacturer confirmed that the bottle caps bearing their logo intercepted at the airport were fake. The docket has been sent to the public prosecutor for a decision on the next step,” said Netshiunda.

Mlaba made a brief court appearance on February 6 at Verulam magistrate’s court, and his matter was adjourned to March 1 2023. 

The matter is before the court for further investigation.

It was revealed that witness statements are still outstanding, and the state told the court they are also waiting for other lab results 

Mlaba’s attorney, Adv Thokozani Khuzwayo, said his client was aware that other charges were to be added. 

Khuzwayo refused to comment further on the expected charges and said he would only make his statement, before the court, once they were added.

South African Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA) CEO Kurt Moore, said they were pleased that further investigation by the police led to the uncovering of what appears to be backyard production of counterfeit alcohol.

He confirmed the affected companies had offered laboratory support to verify that the samples secured by the police were counterfeit alcohol.

Moore said the biggest danger with counterfeits was the alleged use of methanol as opposed to the ethanol used by legal producers.

According to the Toxicology Education Foundation, methanol is converted first into formaldehyde then into formic acid.

High levels of formic acid cause a range of different effects, including acidosis, where the acidity of the blood gets too high and several organs (like the kidney) begin to malfunction, he said.

“Formic acid is also a primary cause of damage to the nervous system, and damage to the optic nerve and subsequent permanent blindness are hallmarks of non-lethal methanol toxicity. Methanol is a great example of how your body can make a chemical more toxic,” explained Moore.

According to Moore, the government is losing more than R11bn in excise tax revenue a year due to the significant growth in illicit trade in liquor since the Covid-19 lockdown that included prohibition and restriction of alcohol sales.

KZN Liquor Authority spokesperson Nomthandazo Dlamini said impact of the unregulated illicit trade of alcohol hurt the entire value chain of the liquor trade. 

Dlamini said the illicit alcohol market not only presents critical challenges for the healthcare sector but also contributes to fiscal revenue loss for the government. This mainly stems from unpaid excise and customs duties.