§ 153. Stills and distilling apparatus. Any person who shall manufacture any illicit alcoholic beverage or who, not being duly licensed as a distiller under the provisions of the alcoholic beverage control law, shall own, operate, possesses or have under his control any still or distilling apparatus is guilty of a felony. "Still" or " distilling apparatus" shall mean any apparatus designed, intended, actually used, or capable of being used for or in connection with the separating of alcoholic or spirituous vapors, or alcohol or spirituous solutions, or alcohol or spirits, from alcohol or spirituous solutions or mixtures, but shall not include stills used for laboratory purposes or stills used for distilling water or other nonalcoholic materials where the cubic capacity of such stills is one gallon or less.

Provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful for any person to own, possess or have under his control any still or distilling apparatus (a) where the same has been duly registered in compliance with or has otherwise complied with the provisions of federal law and regulations issued pursuant thereto, or (b) where the same is not required to be registered under federal law, or (c) where the same is in the possession of a duly qualified manufacturer of stills under federal law.

The unlawful ownership, operation, possession, control or use of any still or distilling apparatus or illicit alcoholic beverage is a nuisance, and each such still and distilling apparatus and illicit alcoholic beverage is hereby declared to be a nuisance, and when any such still or distilling apparatus or illicit alcoholic beverage shall be taken from the possession of any person, the same shall be surrendered and forfeited to the sheriff of the county wherein the same shall be taken, except that in a city having a population of seventy-five thousand or more, the same shall be surrendered and forfeited to the police commissioner or other head of the police force or department of said city and except that in the county of Nassau, the same shall be surrendered and forfeited to the commissioner of the county police department.