https://arab.news/vu4h9
- Six people were detained for allegedly selling the counterfeit drinks and two suspects were charged with "deliberate murder"
- Many people resort to cheaper alternatives or homemade spirits as the prices of alcoholic beverages continue to rise
ANKARA: Thirty-three people have died in Istanbul this week after having drunk tainted alcohol while 48 others received hospital treatment, Turkiye’s state news agency Anadolu reported on Thursday.
A previous toll on Wednesday counted 23 deaths since Monday in Turkiye’s largest city.
Drinks adulterated with methanol, an industrial alcohol distinct from the ethanol present in alcoholic beverages, are suspected of being the cause of the deaths.
Four people suspected of having sold contaminated alcoholic drinks were arrested for “intentional homicide,” the city’s governorate said in a statement on Thursday evening.
Since January 1, authorities have seized 29 tons of adulterated alcohol in Istanbul while 64 businesses have had their licenses revoked, the governorate added.
“We consider those who cause the death of dozens of our citizens by producing or selling fake alcohol to be no different from the terrorists who kill people,” the statement said. “Our fight against the scoundrels who attempt to kill our people for material gains will continue unabated.”
Store owners have blamed the government for this wave of deaths, arguing that high taxes on alcohol encourage bootleg home distilling.
Poisonings from adulterated alcohol are quite common in Turkiye, where private production has shot up in the wake of the cranked-up levies.
Such alcohol poisoning killed 48 people in Istanbul in 2024, according to the authorities.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim accused by his opponents of wanting to Islamise society, has repeatedly expressed opposition to drinking and smoking.