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Kinyarwanda
A joint operation by the Police and local leaders in Nyarugenge District on Wednesday seized over 2, 500 liters of illicit brew.
Albert Numviyumukiza, 38, was arrested during the operation in connection with illegal distilling of psychotropic substances. The illicit drinks were found at his home in Nyarugenge Sector, Kiyovu Cell where he was running an illegal distillery.
The Police spokesperson for the Central region, Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Marie-Gorette Umutesi commended the role of the residents, who reported the distiller and facilitated the successful operation.
“We received credible information from residents that Numviyumukiza was running an illegal distillery at his home and selling illicit brew to local bars,” said CIP Umutesi.
“The Police and local leaders reacted, conducted an operation and indeed seized the 2500 litres of illicit substances from his home before he was arrested for the criminal act,” she added.
She warned that the illicit substances are very dangerous for people’s health and advised the distillers to deal in legal businesses.
“These substances are distilled in unhygienic places by unhygienic people and kept in dirty drums and other containers. They use raw materials such as sugarcane residues, burned bricks, sugar, sorghum, and water,” she said.
She called upon the general public to seek standards license from Rwanda Standards Board to allow them to engage in such businesses, and follow the recommended standard procedures.
Standards requirements include labeling (name of the products, physical and postal address of manufacturer); net contents in milliliters or liters; ethyl alcohol content; date of manufacture and expiry date; storage instruction; statutory warnings; and list of ingredients in descending order.
