As a result of 30 raids, 60 tons of supplies for adulterating liquor were seized. 14 people were arrested, including managers and directors of legally formed companies that, apparently, mixed original products with adulterated liquor. 

The Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, led the largest operation that the institution has carried out against the illegal structures accused of adulterating liquor, and affecting the health and lives of thousands of Colombian citizens. 

In 30 search warrants carried out in Kennedy, Bosa, Tunjuelito, Ciudad Bolívar, Rafael Uribe Uribe, Antonio Nariño, Puente Aranda, Teusaquillo and Suba, in Bogotá; and Soacha (Cundinamarca), the CTI investigators of the Special Directorate against Human Violations revealed a criminal industry involved in counterfeiting and manufacturing artisanal and unhealthy liquor. 

During the proceedings, 60 tons of supplies were seized, including stamps, labels, caps, dispensers, boxes, about 300,000 bottles, alcohol, other liquid substances used in the illegal process; and products that were labeled as wines, aperitifs, champagnes, whisky, rum, vodka and ‘aguardiente’, and were packed and ready to be sold during December. 

Those people responsible for this deception belonged to the same network. 14 people were arrested. Some are managers and directors of four legally constituted companies, whose economic activity is the sale of liquors. It was proved that they allegedly served as a facade, and distributed original and adulterated liquor in Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, Cúcuta, Barranquilla and cities of the coffee-growing region. 

A prosecutor of the Special Directorate against Human Violations brought the detainees before a supervisory judge and will charge them with conspiracy to commit a crime, usurpation of industrial property rights, and food, medical products or prophylactic material corruption. 

Criminal scam 

After 1 year-long investigation, it was established that the organization was not hierarchical. There was collaboration between the members. 

Some, allegedly operated recycling centers where liquor bottles with labels or dispensers in good conditions were bought. Many of them came from other parts of the country and from the border city of Tulcán (Ecuador). These elements were subjected to a washing process, in which water, soap, disinfectants or bleaches were reused in poor hygiene conditions. 

During the proceedings, 60 tons of supplies were seized, including stamps, labels, caps, dispensers, boxes, about 300,000 bottles, alcohol and other liquid substances used in the illegal process. 

On the other hand, in family homes the liquid was allegedly prepared in traditional stills and by mixing alcohol and various components without any sanitary measure. There are indications that the companies allegedly linked to the illegal activity also distilled the liquids but in a large scale and in an industrial manner. 

The evidence shows that the boxes with different kinds of liquor were sold to discotheques, stores in neighborhoods and nightclubs. In some cases, deliveries were made in vehicles that simulated the transport of eggs. This way, they tried to avoid the controls of the authorities. 

The Office of the Attorney General will continue with its investigative activity to disrupt structures that profit from the sale of adulterated intoxicating liquors in different regions of the country which could affect vision, the central nervous system, and cause disorders or death to the consumers. 

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest. 

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out the criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.