"HOOCH" IN SYDNEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 37, 13 February 1926, Page 17

"HOOCH" IN SYDNEY.

ILLICIT STILL FOUND. L AN elaborate outfit. iIAX ARRESTED. (from Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, February 5. i Described by Customs men as the j ~.t elaborate ever found in New South I & an illicit "still," only recently 1 S gman tled, was discovered by detectives 1 'ored away in a sl, ed at Waverley this . s ! t Close inspection shows it to be ] Ymost modern design, and capable of i "producing, experts declare, at least 20 ; Sallons of raw spirit an hour. \ rrfc story surrounding an arrest made I after "the discovery of the location • Tthe still dates back to October of ■ ? as t year. when a man rented an elaborate home about a mile from Wahroonga railway station, on the Vorth Shore line. •• The cottage is set well back from the roadway, and has as an annexe a large enclosed shed. The rent was high, but the man did not cavil at the price. Police have discovered that the water and lishting plants were extended from the cottage jto the shed, without the consent of the owners, and they claim that in that shed the "bootlegging" plant was set up and worked for three months at least. . DujSkon whisky entering the State is in tbVvicinity of 30/ a gallon, and as the nien are said to have been retailing their "hooch" at that price there were many hotels in the city eager to buy. andescape the duty. Many hundreds' of pounds' worth of the stuff were sold in.this manner. About a fortnight ago, when the police commenced inquiries, they learned that there was a sudden cessation of activity in the shed at the rear of the cottage. Carriers were engaged to remove some heavy cases to store at Waverley, and the occupants of the cottage left the district within two days of the first move on the part of the police. But the detectives found the cases at Waverley, and opened them to find the working parts of the "still" inside. The '•'worm" was elaborately made, and the manner in which the other- parts were constructed indicates that ho expense was spared. One man was arrested. He has been before the court, and is remanded pending further inquiries.