Man arrested for running illegal wine unit after learning on YouTube

The Prohibition and Excise Department busted an illegal fruit wine manufacturing unit in Malkajgiri and arrested a retired man who allegedly learnt wine-making through YouTube videos. Officials seized 377.7 litres of illicit wine, 502 bottles, and manufacturing equipment during the raid.

Hyderabad: The Prohibition and Excise Department sleuths busted an illegal wine manufacturing unit being operated at Malkajgiri by a man, Antony Peter, who had learnt the process of wine making by watching videos on YouTube. The officials seized 377.7 litres of illicitly brewed wine, 502 bottles and equipment used in the manufacturing process during the raid.

Acting on a tip-off, the Malkajgiri District Task Force (DTF), led by Inspector Bharat Kumar, conducted the raid and arrested the suspect.

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According to officials, Antony Peter had started the illegal activity nearly a year ago as a means of self-employment after retirement without obtaining the mandatory licence under the Excise Act.

During the investigation, officials found that Antony was producing seven varieties of fruit wine, including grape, pineapple, guava, mosambi, sapota, banana and betel leaf-flavoured wine. The wine was allegedly being sold at Rs 300 per 750-ml bottle.

The man reportedly prepared the wine by naturally fermenting fruits for about 15 days before mixing the fermented juice with sugar and wheat and filtering it. Officials said the fermentation process naturally generated alcohol, which was then bottled and sold illegally.

The investigation revealed that the illicit wine was being supplied to customers in Neredmet, Secunderabad, ECHS and Kapra areas.

The value of the seized property is estimated at around Rs 1.5 lakh. The accused and the seized wine were handed over to the Kapra Excise Police Station for further legal action.