Police arrest fake whisky producer

Police in the Ashanti Region have arrested a 48-year-old man for illegally producing fake alcoholic drinks.

The suspect, Yaw Nambu Dosu, alias Joe, of Nambu Distilleries in Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, allegedly mixes ethanol, water and colour, puts the mixture in bottles and passes it on to the unsuspecting public as the original drinks.

Some of the drinks he allegedly fakes include Jonny Walker, Black and Red labels; Jack Daniels, Bacardi, Schnapps and Smirnoff Vodka.

At the time of his arrest, he had 48 cartons of packaged assorted drinks from his residence and a number of empty Red and Black labels bottles.

Arrest

Briefing the press in Kumasi on Wednesday, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Ken Yeboah, said the suspect was arrested at his ‘factory’ last Monday following a complaint by a company that dealt in those products.

The suspect is alleged to have told the police that he had been in the business for about a decade and had been doing it with one Kwofie, a resident of Nungua in Accra.

According to the police, the fake products were often sold in markets in Kumasi and Accra and their environs.

Mr Yeboah said the contents of the seized drinks had been sent to the forensic laboratory in Accra for testing.

He said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had, in 2007, applied to the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) for a licence to produce Lion Bitters but was denied.

Notwithstanding the refusal, the suspect allegedly rented a room near the Anita Hotel Junction at Akyawkrom and went into production.

Armed robbers

In a related development, the Tafo Pankrono Divisional Police Command have also arrested three suspected armed robbers for robbing their victim of GH¢1,000 and a deposit pass book.

The suspects — Isaac Opoku, 22; Isaac Kwakye, 25, and Nana Akwasi, 28 — are said to have used a taxi, with registration number GR 980 Z.

They allegedly picked their victim around Breman, a suburb of Kumasi.

According to the police, when they reached a section of the road known as Afrikiko, Akwasi allegedly pulled out a dagger and threatened to stab the victim if he made any noise.

They allegedly took all the money the victim had on him and later pushed him out of the vehicle and sped off.

However, the police said, the victim managed to stop another taxi and gave the robbers a hot chase, raised an alarm, and attracted the attention of onlookers who helped to apprehend the suspects.

They were later handed over to the Tafo Pankrono Police.