IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Moonshine is back in the spotlight and on law enforcement’s radar after one of the biggest busts in the area two months ago.
The illegal liquor wasn’t going only to local customers, but also to people as far away as Pennsylvania.
Dean Combs showed Channel 9 where he made moonshine in a shed that sits in the shadows of the Old North Wilkesboro Speedway near his home.
"It's a heritage through my family. It was their life. That's the way we were raised,” Combs said.
Combs was a one-time NASCAR driver and was also Junior Johnson's crew chief.
Alcohol Law Enforcement agents said up until December the 64-year-old was producing hundreds of gallons of moonshine, not only for people in North Carolina, but for some as far away as Pennsylvania.
When agents raided the building, they say they found a 300-gallon still along with 2,100 gallons of fermenting mash. They tore down the equipment but left behind jugs used to move the liquor. An undercover ALE agent who worked the case said the moonshine is illegal because it is untaxed and it often ends up in lower-income neighborhoods.
"With these lower-income neighborhoods we usually see this product in liquor houses, which is essentially a home turned into a bar. Around that type of environment you see an influx in crime, especially violent crime,” an undercover ALE officer said.
Mack Ramsey showed Channel 9 where he keeps his moonshine in his Avery County home. He allowed reporter Dave Faherty to climb a ladder to the top of a shed nearby where he keeps an old still. For years, Ramsey said he helped move the copper still up into the mountains so others could make the illegal liquor.
Much closer to Charlotte, deputies in Iredell County showed Channel 9 photos of two busts during the last year, including one in Mooresville.
Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell is urging people to exercise caution if they're ever offered a drink of homemade hooch.
"Some of these things are run through radiators to be cooled to make the product steam converted over. There's a lot of bad contaminants in these things just like there are in drugs. Most people do not know how to do this,” he said.
The charge for manufacturing moonshine is only a misdemeanor and most likely won't mean jail time for Combs. The bigger penalty is the state taxes he could be required to pay for making the illegal liquor.
ALE agents said that could run in the thousands of dollars. Combs said he wasn't in it for the money instead he wanted to perfect his craft and open his own distillery. He's not sure that will happen now.
"A lot of work went down the drain. A whole lot of work went down the drain,” Combs said.
Authorities offer rewards if people can help them with cases. To report violations, call 877-ALE-AGENT.