Police clampdown on unlicensed liquor outlet in Byo

A total of 15 unlicensed liquor outlet owners in Bulawayo have been arrested by police in  an ongoing blitz against the illegal selling of  alcohol, the Chronicle reported.

These will either pay fines or appear in court for the offence.

Of the 15 outlets, eight were bottle stores, five were sports bars and two were supermarkets.

Section 85 (2) of the Liquor Act says "a licencee shall ensure that his licence is prominently displayed at all times upon the licenced premises to which it relates."

Confirming the arrests yesterday, Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo said police would continue to crack down on all illegal operators who have no licences or are operating using expired ones.

He said the blitz was more of the police  routine job and pledged they would be ruthless especially to those that sell alcohol to school  children.

"I can confirm we have arrested and raided  15 outlets and we are still deliberating on how the owners will be charged though I am not at the liberty of naming any of the outlets. They will pay fines or appear in court for their offences," said Insp Moyo.

He said he was disappointed because most of these illegal business people were selling alcohol to children of school-going age.

"We noted that these illegal outlets were selling alcohol to school  children which is irresponsibility at its highest level.

"I want to warn all those illegal operators out there who are selling alcohol that we will be ruthless especially to them. We will make sure that they never operate in alcohol business because they are contributing to moral decadence," said Insp Moyo.

He said police also noted that there were  illegal operators who would continue selling  alcohol to "dead drunk" people so they make more money.

"We know that there are unscrupulous business people who will not stop selling alcohol even to 'dead drunk' customers. These open their outlets anytime and close anytime and we will surely arrest them," he said.

Insp Moyo warned all illegal operators who were still operating without licences or with expired ones to close their businesses before police descend on them.

"All illegal operators that are still in the business should close and first acquire licences before we descend on them. Outlets that are in the process of renewing their licences should also close down because we will confiscate their wares when we catch them," said Insp Moyo.

Recently the police launched a blitz on illegal liquor outlets and a number of bottle stores, bars, restaurants, sports bars and nightclubs.

The blitz was aimed at curbing the illegal selling of liquor, which is prejudicing Government of thousands of dollars in revenue.

Some outlets that were found without operating licenses were ordered to close and police mobilised the riot police officers that were armed to the teeth to conduct the raids.

Licenced premises are required by the Liquor Act, in terms of Section 27, to apply for an Extended Hours/Occasional Licence that authorises them to sale liquor to bona fide members of the public attending social functions.

Nightclubs are required to close at 3am but are together with all other outlets, which are supposed to close at 10.30pm, extending their business hours to 6am.

Some of the outlets even double up as restaurants and use a single liquor licence while some operate as night clubs yet they do not have the night club liquor licences specified in Section 43, which calls for such premises to have enough space to accommodate patrons.