This morning, 25th September 2019, a multi-agency search is being conducted at an apartment on the Northside of Cork City. The Operation consisted of Garda members from Anti-Social Behaviour Unit & Detective Branch, Revenue, Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FASI) and the Heath Service Executive (HSE). The search warrant executed was as a result of a joint investigation into illicit alcohol in Cork City. The multiagency operation was created as a result of a Garda investigation after a suspect was believed to be selling illicit alcohol to people sleeping rough in Cork city.
During the course of the search, a quantity of homemade alcohol, hundreds of bottles for packaging, a quantity of cash, and a baton were seized. The alcohol being supplied is suspected to be of a high strength and not having undergone any quality controls. Revenue investigations relating to excise matters are on-going. FSAI and HSE will investigate with a view to a prosecution from a public health concern.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
Note: The price of the alcohol being sold varied between €10 - €13 per bottle. It is believed that between 120 – 240 Litres of this alcohol was being sold per week.
