Local black market alcohol sales are 'booming', says dealer
Just weeks after the sale of alcohol was suspended, a local liquor dealer trading illegally says business is booming.
The dealer, who spoke to Newswatch on condition of anonymity, says his business started in Level 5 of the national lockdown.
He says it picked up again when the President Cyril Ramaphosa sprung a second sales ban on South Africans last month.
The man says there's usually an influx of buyers around pay-day.
"There are a lot of sales. There are a lot of people out there looking for alcohol. There's also quite a variety of people from different areas that are looking for alcohol, so sales are definitely booming."
He says his customers mostly go for the cheapest alcohol.
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"Your beers are sold in quarts which is 750ml and vodka is also pretty common or mostly sold. Vodka sells for about R3 700 per case.
"I do not sell them per bottle. I sell them per case. The same goes for beers, I also sell them per case for about R700 to R750 a case which is 12 beers.
"I would say most of the time, we have stock of those and those are also commonly requested."
He says, for a middleman, he's making around R200 to R300 profit per sale.
He says there's fear of getting caught.
"I have heard of many stories where the suppliers would get caught, but they somehow found their way out of it. My supplier ran into a few speed-bumps, but he is all sorted now."
