An illegal whisky gives you more than a dishonest hangover

Bogota, Colombia: el tiempo newspaper reports that yesterday about 1,000 counterfeited bottles of whisky were found in a house. The bottles are said to be from well-known foreign trade marks. According to preliminary investigations, the bottles are original and were purchased in recycling centres. Moreover, it is explained that the seals and labels are not original, but are pretty similar. This, according to officials, will make it more difficult to find any of these illegal bottles that may already be in the market.

The building was closed by the Metropolitan Police of Bogota and two people were arrested in the raid. The authorities recommend users to buy liquor in chain stores and recognised places, to also review very well the stamps and labels, and any symptoms other than the normal hangover to go to the nearest health centre!

I wonder if the recycling centre has committed any crime. At the end, their business is to recycle so, what do they do with the products? Do they washed and put it again in the market?

A few days back, I reported in this blog a measure taken by the INDECOPI. This involved the recycling of bottles and packages for medicines in Peru; the intention was to stop people reusing these materials and therefore stopping potential counterfeit medicines. This practice is well known in Latin America, to reuse original packaging. I therefore propose that authorities must start working to build certain policies where recycling companies need to take responsibility – just a thought.