Overview
- Victoria Police are probing the illicit alcohol trade, with Operation Eclipse under way and 80 licensed venues under investigation for production and importation.
- Researchers who visited more than 200 stores across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland found about 30 percent stocked suspected illicit alcohol, with some sales also occurring in licensed venues.
- Laboratory testing of several bottles detected methanol and plastic debris, which at high enough levels can cause poisoning, blindness or long-term damage to the liver, kidneys and reproductive system.
- The study and law-enforcement briefings point to a mixed supply chain, with some tainted products seized at the border and other batches apparently manufactured in Australia.
- The Australian Taxation Office values the illicit alcohol market at least $767 million a year, and consumers are urged to avoid unusually cheap spirits and check for missing barcodes or pregnancy warnings, poor labels, and faulty caps.