BOGOTA SEWERS AWASH IN BOOTLEG LIQUOR

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia poured away a river of liquor on Friday in
a crackdown on contraband goods that may prompt more than one
dipsomaniac to reach for the bottle.

A statement from the state-run Tax and Customs Department said nearly
60,000 bottles, valued at a total of more than $710,000, were
destroyed in the attack against bootleg alcohol.

The vast quantity of drink, which was watered down before customs
agents dumped it unceremoniously into Bogota's sewers, included
world-renowned brands of whiskey, vodka, wine, champagne, tequila,
rum, brandy, cognac and beer, the statement said.

A booming trade in contraband -- involving a whole catalog of goods
ranging anywhere from Scotch whiskey to television sets and
refrigerators -- has long been cited as one of the leading ways of
laundering the proceeds from narcotics sales abroad and funneling the
money back into Colombia.

The Andean country produces an estimated 80 percent of the world's
cocaine and is a leading source of the high-grade heroin sold on U.S.
streets.

Much of the bootleg liquor sold in Colombia is adulterated before it
reaches the consumer and the Customs Department routinely destroys
large hauls of drink that have entered the country without
registration or payment of taxes.