“Some of my friends fainted, while those that were awake occasionally felt sick to their stomachs and were hyper ventilating. Some of them developed eyesight issues. The once-clear world now appeared as though we were watching TV on a station with poor reception. Then our vision was completely lost”.
This is the description given to this publication by *Bopaki after being released from hospital after consuming fake alcohol during the festive season in Tlokweng. He said he didn’t realise that he had consumed fake whisky at the shebeen until a few days later after being discharged from hospital.”
Despite being one of the most heavily regulated industries in Botswana, the alcohol industry is one of the most vulnerable to counterfeiting and illegal trade. During the Covid crisis, nefarious criminals took advantage of the demand-supply gap to sell counterfeit liquor necessitated by the alcohol ban. The industry also recorded the highest number of counterfeiting incidents, including adulteration, trademark infringement, counterfeit liquor, and other methods of product imitation.
Until recently this business has mainly been low-key, but now counterfeit distilled beverages have now found their way in to pubs, nightclubs and premises of unlicensed premises around the country.
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