Minsk authorities admit failure in curbing illegal alcohol trade

Minsk authorities have refused from the idea to forbid selling alcohol at night, head of Minsk City Executive Committee Andrei Shorats said.

The ban has not brought any good results, BELTA quotes the official. The authorities could not to struggle with the illegal trade, he claimed.

Alcohol was sold on the Internet. Night sellers used various tricks to avoid punishment, the head of Minsk City Executive Committee noted. They let drinks on lease, delivered pizzas with free alcohol and even offered a drive to places where people could get alcohol. In reality, they did not drive customers anywhere because they had alcohol in their cars.

It was impossible to confiscate alcohol from illegal sellers and the authorities decided to cancel the interdiction. They are not planning to reintroduce it, Shorats said.