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Police vow to stamp out bootleg liquor by Ramadhan
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Dangerous substance: At a press conference on Monday, Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Indarto shows bootleg liquor confiscated during a recent operation in the city. (Antara/Risky Andrianto)
P
o:p>Police have declared war on bootleg liquor after 51 people in West Java and another 31 in Greater Jakarta died from consuming unlicensed alcoholic beverages in the past two weeks.
National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Syafruddin said the force would conduct operations against bootleg liquor across the country and stressed that the distribution of the harmful product had to be ended immediately.
“If you count the number of victims from all over Indonesia, I believe it could be 100 people. (…). This is serious. Too many have died,” Syarifuddin said.
He said that to solve the problem, authorities had to eliminate the production of bootleg liquor. Police had to get to the roots of the rampant use and distribution of the liquor, and perpetrators should face maximum punishment.
“I have given them a target to finish this problem this month. There will be zero bootleg liquor in Indonesia. There will be no more bootleg liquor this Ramadhan,” Syafruddin told journalists on Wednesday, adding that he had coordinated the policy with regional police offices.
Police found that the bootleg liquor they had seized during the operations contained 96 to 98 percent pure alcohol mixed with other substances, like energy drinks, syrup or carbonated drinks.
Police have arrested seven people for allegedly producing and distributing bootleg liquor in West Java and Greater Jakart. Two other suspects are still on the run. (ebf)
