Rise in smuggling of counterfeit whiskeys in southern Africa sparks health alert
Imitation European spirits are sold on the streets of Zimbabwe and are popular with young people and the unemployed who, in seeking a cheap drink, put their health at risk
For a bribe of just $20, a 50-kilogram shipment containing six refilled jugs of what is claimed to be Bushmills Irish Whiskey slips into Zimbabwe without being checked by customs officials at the Chirundu border post. It comes from the neighboring Republic of Zambia, just across the Zambezi River. But these bottles contain a pale yellow liquid that is not authentic Bushmills Irish Whiskey. “They are imitation whiskeys, made and bottled in clandestine distilleries in Tanzania or Zambia — no one knows that — and then smuggled into Zimbabwe,” says Batsi, a smuggler at the Chirundu border, who prefers not to give his real name. “The clandestine producers are making a fortune,” he adds.
