Several beer garden operators in the Stabroek Market area were arrested yesterday and a substantial quantity of unlicensed liquor seized during a two-hour operation by Customs Officers aided by scores of heavily armed police ranks.
Pandemonium broke out near the East Bank bus park just after 2 pm yesterday when truck loads of plain-clothes and uniformed ranks converged on the scene and formed a vehicular barrier across the road.
Persons were puzzled about what was happening until Customs officers arrived on the scene.
For more than an hour-and-a-half officers from the Guyana Revenue Authority-Customs House and the police force packed cases, salt bags and boxes filled with alcoholic beverages which included Banks Premium Beer, Banks Beer, Mackeson, Banks Milk Stout and Carib Beer into a canter truck. At the end of it all, the truck was filled to capacity. It is unclear what exactly prompted this operation which left many unhappy and close to tears.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene, the area was crowded with curious onlookers as well as disgruntled shop owners and vendors. Policemen dressed in khaki uniforms holding large guns were everywhere, as persons scampered around trying to get information about what was going on.
There was a heavy build-up of traffic and several traffic ranks were engaged in trying to clear the area.
This newspaper was told that unlicensed liquor from several vendors in that area had been seized earlier and loaded into police pick-ups.
As the liquor was being seized, some shop owners pleaded with the officers, while several persons were heard to say, “People deh hey making an honest living and this is what Customs come to do to these poor people.” Many in the crowd were sympathetic to the beer garden operators, especially the women.
Just before she was whisked away in a police bus, one of the shop owners told Stabroek News, “This is totally unfair; they ain’t even come and give people a warning.”
The two huge refrigerators she has in her shop were empty when this newspaper entered. The cold bottles of liquor had been placed in drink cases and bags only minutes before and added to the large quantity already accommodated in the canter truck. The only drinks that were left in her shop were several bottles of Banks Malta (no licence is required to sell this).
The woman told this newspaper that she had been operating a beer garden at that spot for the last 20 years and had never encountered a problem before.
“They come here today and tell me that I have to get a licence to sell liquor. I show them my business licence and they tell me how that can’t wuk
