OPERATOR OF ILLICIT STILL JAILED

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 228, 23 June 1944, Page 3

OPERATOR OF ILLICIT STILL JAILED

Another Man Fined For Possession Of Arms SALES TO A SOLDIER Pleading guilty to charges of operating an illicit still and selling liquor without a licence, an engineer, Frederick Charles Dauby, agt’d 41, appeared befure Mr. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrates Court, Wellington, yesterday. With him was charged Michael O’Connor, watersider, aged 27, who pleaded guilty to being on premises where the spirits were sold, and keeping liquor for sale without authorization, also to two charges of being in possession of an automatic pistol without a licence. Exhibits in the court included the still, wholly set up, bags of sugar, yeast, a quantity of spirits and two weapons, a Colt revolver, and a Keising sub-macbine-gun. The prosecution was conducted by hlr. T. Birks. Mr. 11. Hardie Boys appeared for O'Connor, and Mr. A. J. Mazengarb for Danby. Mr. Birks said that on June 1C uy arrangement with the police, a soldier called nt O'Connor’s residence and asked for whisky. O'Connor told him he could have as much as he liked at £5 a gallon. O'Connor took the soldier to Lower Hutt bv car and introduced him to Danby, who sold him four gallons of whisky for £2O. On returning to Wellington the soldier bought a bottle of whisky from O'Connor. The next day, continued Mr. Birks, the soldier again visited O’Connor and was taken out to Lower Hutt. While he was there the police arrived and found the two accused standing beside a barrel of distilled spirits. There were also two five-gallon milk cans with water in them. A hydrometer was floating in the barrel. On the property, partly concealed in a ditch, the pie’ice found a retort; there were drums in the back yard. The still head was in the room with the spirits. Danby admitted operating the still and showed the police, with the actual parts, bow he operated it. Amonp the material found by the police were eight 701 b. bags of sugar, tins of molasses, cartons of yeast, 22 gallons of distilled spirit, and five gallons of white spirit. There were also 65 empty sugar bags. The money the soldier had paid Danby the previous day was found in his possession. •The liquor sold by both accused .was 79 per cent, proof spirit, said Mr. Birks. On each distillation accused would get about eight gallons of consumable spirit. An estimate of the amount of spirit which had been distilled was 208 gallons. That would bring in £lO4O. O'Connor was taken back to his residence and a police search was conducted. A tommy gun and a Colt revolver were found as Well as some liquor. About the weapons O'Connor said he obtained them from a man at a hotel; he was not sure of his name. No ammunition was discovered. but accused admitted asking the soldier for some for both guns. “The possession aud erection of a still is a very serious matter," said the magistrate when sentencing accused, “The Court looks on it ns a serious offence, and one that must be put down.” Sentence of 12 months’ hard labour was imposed on Danby. O’Connor was fined £5O on each of the two liquor charges and £lO on the two charges of possessing an unlawful weapon without a licence.