Poitín distillery seized in Cavan

Jenny McGovern

An Irish man in his 40s has been arrested and is being questioned following the discovery of a large poitín still near Ballyconnell.
Details released by Revenue this morning say that Customs officers raided the fully operational distilling unit last Friday seizing 2,000 litres of alcoholic liquid wash (used in the distilling process), 900 empty bottles, seven 200 litre barrels, two copper cylinder tanks complete with fittings and one pump. A spokesperson for the office of the Revenue Commissioners told the Celt:
“This occurance hasn’t happened for many years, so it’s quite unusual and it is fairly significant, especially in the lead up to Christmas. Poitín being the illegal product that it is, you can’t really put a value on it, however if it was a legitimate product the potential loss to the exchequer in terms of excise duty would be €25,000.”