Ngidi, Karabo2014-02-132014-02-132013-09Ngidi, K 2013, 'Illegal sales of alcohol and asset forfeiture', South African Crime Quarterly, no. 45, pp. 33-40.1991-3877http://hdl.handle.net/2263/33411The Constitutional Court recently confirmed an order for the forfeiture of a house from which an unlawful shebeen had been run for years (Van der Burg and Another v National Director of Public Prosecutions).1 In deciding whether to confirm the order of the full bench of the High Court, Justice van der Westhuizen, writing for a unanimous court, addressed the following questions: whether the house was an instrumentality of an offence; whether the illegal sale of alcohol is an organised crime; the proportionality of the crime to the forfeiture under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (the POCA); as well as the impact of the forfeiture on the rights of the children that lived in the house. This judgment comes at a time where issues such as the proposal for the reduction of the legal limit of alcohol for drivers to 0%2 are topical, and seems to point to a tougher stance towards the sale and consumption of alcohol in South Africa. The judgment may therefore be seen as a warning that the illegal sale of alcohol and running of a shebeen will no longer be seen as business as usual in cases where the seller does not heed the call to desist such business.en© 2013, Institute for Security StudiesIllegal salesAlcoholAsset forfeitureConstitutional courtSouth AfricaArticle