Sheriff officials say they have busted an illegal winery operating a municipal sewage treatment plant in a small town in northern Alabama.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it received an anonymous tip on Thursday about an alcohol operation in a municipal building in the city of Rainsville. Investigators then discovered what is described as a large illegal winery in the Rainsville wastewater treatment plant.
Photos released by researchers show glass containers, buckets, a fermentation rack, and other equipment commonly used by people making wine at home.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office through AP
The agency says officers have seized a lot of illegal alcohol and arrests are expected. The city of approximately 5100 inhabitants is located 160 kilometers northeast of Birmingham.
“I would like to thank the mayor for his cooperation and willingness to let law enforcement officers do our job and shut down such a thing,” Sheriff Nick Welden said in a statement. “This is definitely one of the largest operations we’ve seen in our county and possibly our state.”
It is legal to make limited quantities of wine at home in Alabama, but it is illegal to have more than 15 gallons of homemade wine or beer at a time. Police photos show multiple fermentation vats filled with what appears to be over 100 liters of white and red liquid.