Turkish media said Wednesday that at least 17 people had died and another 22 were being treated in hospitals as a result of consuming poisoned booze.
The state-run news agency Anadolu reports that eight individuals who are suspected of supplying the alcoholic beverages have been taken into custody.
Authorities reported last week that they had confiscated 165 bottles of illegal alcohol, 410 litres of ethanol and methanol, and equipment used to make alcoholic beverages.
In Turkey, where private manufacturing has skyrocketed as government have increased tariffs on alcoholic drinks, poisonings from contaminated alcohol are very prevalent.
towards least 25 persons lost their lives in a few of days in multiple locations towards the end of 2021. About 40 people had perished from alcohol intoxication the year before.
While the minimum wage in the country is 17,000 lira ($489) per month, the national alcoholic beverage, Raki, which has an aniseed aroma, costs about 1,300 lira ($37.40) per litre in the grocery.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the authoritarian president of Turkey, has frequently denounced alcohol and tobacco use and has been charged with attempting to Islamize society within the state’s supposedly secular framework.
