A man from Fitzroy Crossing has been the first person to be convicted under the Kimberley’s new liquor transport laws.
Under the new regulations, which came into effect in September this year, each person in a vehicle can have a combination of one carton of beer and three bottles of wine, or one of those together with a 1-litre bottle of liquor.
The legislation is an attempt to crack down on ‘sly-grogging’, the modern equivalent to bootlegging, or rum running, where bottles and cans are smuggled and sold at a profit in dry towns and remote communities.
The man was issued a $750 fine, significantly less than the maximum penalty of $10,000, and ordered to pay $250 in court costs.
The alcohol was also seized and destroyed by police.
Remember kids, don’t Drink Drive…or Drive Drink.
