Authorities Bust Illegal Liquor Distillery

POSTED: 2:15 pm EDT June 22, 2006
UPDATED: 3:46 pm EDT June 22, 2006

LENOIR, N.C. -- Authorities shut down an illegal liquor distillery in Lenoir on Wednesday.

Agents from the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office Immigration and Customs Enforcement Unit received a tip and confirmed the location of the still before speaking with the owner of the property, 22-year-old Daniel Craig.

Members of the sheriff’s office, along with members of the Lenoir Police Department Narcotics Division and North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, searched Craig’s residence and the two-story outbuilding containing the distillery, authorities said. According to the sheriff’s office, officers found parts of the still on the upper and lower floors that were connected by tubes and hoses through holes in the floor.

The distillery contained over $600 worth of copper, Agent J.D. Barbour said. The still had copper tubes and an 80-gallon copper boiler.

Due to the complexity of the operation, the Patterson Fire Department had to be called in to assist in the removal of equipment.

Craig was charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of non-tax paid alcohol and manufacturing of non-tax paid alcohol.

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