Cops finally take on illegal breweries

RAHIM YAR KHAN: Police officials have apprehended dozens of people in the district for making alcohol.  Locals accused the administration of turning a blind eye to the illegal breweries that had cropped up in the district but police officials finally took notice of the situation last week and have been raiding several locations in this regard.

Due to the price hike a large number of people appear to have joined the accused in their business and many young boys (as young as nine or ten years of age) were caught by police officials for distributing bottles of wine and liquor to locals in the district.

“The brewery owners have employed little children to do their dirty work and many of them were operating from their homes,” said constable Irfan. Last year in Multan and other districts of the country dozens of people died after consuming poisonous liquor and police officials have said that they are determined to wipe out all breweries and illegal liquor sales in the district.

Several locals in Rahim Yar Khan protested outside the police station for weeks before the police finally launched the drive to eradicate alcohol sales in the district. “We are glad they are finally doing something about it as alcohol consumption was becoming extremely routine,” said a resident Sadiq, adding that he even knew of several tea stalls that secretly offered their customers alcohol.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2010.