CityNews – A 63-year-old man and his two sons were arrested on Saturday for producing counterfeit alcohol.
Photo: Weerasak Panyachod.
Police, soldiers and excise officials arrested Thanarat Anthiwong and his sons Asawin, 34, and Jirawut, 30, at a house in Changpuek sub-district.
They also seized equipment for making alcohol including large tanks, empty bottles of various spirit brands, smell and colour additives, liquid alcohol used in production, and used tax stamps.
Excise officials said they had suspected the three men of producing fake liquor for a long time, and that they had moved around to avoid arrest.
They allegedly mixed alcohol with additives to make it look and smell like real brands, then poured it into used bottles and posted tax stamps on them to make them look new.
They sold the fake liquor to moonshine bars and grocery stores in downtown Chiang Mai as well as rural districts for just 200 baht a bottle.
The three suspects confessed that they had been producing the counterfeit alcohol in Chiang Mai for two months.
Drinking counterfeit alcohol can cause health problems and even death, officials warned.