Crackdown on counterfeit alcohol: Illegal liquor manufacturing site found in uMlazi
Counterfeit Smirnoff 1818 bottles and other items discovered during a Hawks operation at a property in uMlazi in Durban on Monday.
Image: Durban Metro Police / Facebook
Police have raided an illegal liquor manufacturing facility in Linda Mnomiya, uMlazi, where suspects were found allegedly mixing ethanol with water and bottling it to look like Smirnoff vodka.
The Durban Metro police said in a statement that officers, from various law enforcement authorities, conducted an intelligence-driven operation on Monday and found a makeshift production setup.
The main suspect was found by officers in the act of mixing the components used to manufacture counterfeit liquor.
The Durban Metro Police said its Drug Team, together with Counter Narcotics KZN, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation detectives from Port Shepstone and the SAPS Economic Infrastructure Task Team, were involved in dismantling the operation.
The police said authorities seized several exhibits including:
- 5 × 25L containers of pure ethanol
- 4 × 5L containers of pure ethanol
- 6 × 750ml bottles of diluted ethanol (falsely branded as Smirnoff)
- 7 × empty Smirnoff bottles
- 1 × cellphone
- Bottle caps and other packaging materials
- Additional equipment and containers used for production and distribution. The total estimated value of the seized items is R73,200.
Containers with pure ethanol and fake Smirnoff bottles were also found.
Image: Durban Metro Police / Facebook
South African Liquor Brand Owners Association (SALBA) spokesperson Kurt Moore has previously warned criminals often use industrial-grade ethanol or dilute products with unsafe substances.
He said this poses serious health risks to consumers, including alcohol poisoning, long-term organ damage, or fatalities.
The police operation comes after The Mercury previously reported on another major bust in Howick, where the Hawks seized machinery worth millions of rand allegedly used to manufacture counterfeit Smirnoff 1818 bottles.
The total estimated value of the seized items is R73,200.
Image: Durban Metro Police / Facebook
That operation, led by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s Serious Commercial Crime units from Pietermaritzburg and Durban, was described as a significant breakthrough in the fight against South Africa’s growing illicit alcohol trade.
According to a 2025 Euromonitor International study commissioned by the Drinks Federation of South Africa (DFSA), South Africa’s illicit alcohol market has grown by 55% over the past seven years, costing the economy an estimated R16.5 billion in fiscal losses in 2024.