•  
  • Amazing-still Hem
  • All-Freightfree
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap

Charges laid as tainted alcohol kills at least 19 in Czech Republic

PRAGUE—Czech officials will keep a nationwide ban on hard-liquor sales for at least a “few” more days as police probe an illegal alcohol network after spirits laced with methyl-alcohol killed people across the country.

Concerns also spread to neighbouring Slovakia, which banned the import and sale of Czech spirits on Tuesday after at least 19 people died in the Czech Republic from drinking bootleg vodka and rum containing poisonous methanol.

The Slovak move followed a similar ban in Poland on Sunday and showed that Czech authorities have not been able to bring their biggest health scare in decades under control.

Police have charged 23 people with various crimes related to making and spreading poisonous substances after raiding 40 premises, Deputy Interior Minister Jaroslav Hruska said Tuesday.

The worst case of mass alcohol poisoning in 30 years forced the government to impose on Friday an indefinite ban on sales of hard liquor across the country as police and customs officers searched for the source of the contaminated beverages. While the measure locked about 20 million bottles of spirits in warehouses and hurt liquor makers and hospitality businesses, the government isn’t considering easing it for now, Health Minister Leos Heger told reporters in Prague.

“Declining profits, in the context of 19 and potentially more deaths, are a lower priority at this moment,” Heger said. Easing the ban “won’t be a matter for consideration in the next few days.”

The Health Ministry has 19 confirmed deaths caused by methanol, while police register 20 deaths and are awaiting autopsy results from five more cases, Stepanka Zatloukalova, a police spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

As many as 35 people have been hospitalized, with five new cases of poisoning occurring in the past 24 hours, Heger said.

Eight Slovaks were also taken to hospital in the eastern town of Presov on Sunday after drinking Czech-made spirits at a party.

Czech police have uncovered a chain of producers and distributors who supplied tainted drinks to retail outlets, bars and kiosks.

“The investigation conducted so far clearly shows that the cases are related,” police president Martin Cervicek said. “We have progressed to a group of people that may be related to organizers, or possibly to importers of the base material.”

The country’s spirits makers estimate up to 25 per cent of the alcohol in circulation is bootleg — often cheap vodka and rum made from industrial alcohol via a simple chemical process and sold under fake labels.

Police have been investigating how methanol got into the spirits. One theory is that it may come from windscreen wiper fluid, possibly from Poland.

Methanol can sometimes result from home distillation, common in the Czech Republic, if it is done clumsily, but the victims said they had purchased bottles at kiosks and stores.

The Czech ban is hurting the budget as the state collects about 750 million koruna ($40 million) a month in taxes from hard liquor sales, according to Ladislav Mincic, a deputy finance minister. A longer ban would “complicate” efforts to cut the budget gap, he said Sunday.

The tainted alcohol was sold in bottles under fake labels from at least two Czech liquor makers and the bottles weren’t properly sealed, according to police. The poisonous drink was offered at discounts in bottles labelled as vodka or tuzemak, a local rum-like alcoholic beverage. Several people went blind or fell into coma after consuming it.


With files from Reuters


Share This Post

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
  • Pinterest

About

Related Posts

Menu

  • What is TheDomainSnooper from thedomainsnooper.com?
  • Prosper Profit Review From A member since 4 Years
  • A Comprehensive Review of IVW-videomaker
  • Why look for absolutely free label makers
  • How to choose totally free label maker software programs
  • Most recent form of marketing, custom label bottled water
  • Culligan drinking water filters are designed to eliminate most contaminants from the water and make it more safe for use
  • Counter top water filter effectively removes most impurities from tap water
  • Countertop drinking water filters can be easily mounted at the point of use to ensure pure and clear drinking water
  • Carbonated water eases the discomforts of indigestion
  • Carbonated drinks are created whenever (CO2) carbon dioxide is blended inside drinking water
  • Brita drinking water filter cartridges
  • Brita drinking water filter and pitchers
  • Bottled water dispensers for both warm as well as cold water
  • Bottled water cool covers
  • Big Berkey water filter an economical choice for thoroughly clean, pure drinking water
  • Just what is the best bottle drinking water? Certainly this article will show you how difficult it is to name the “best”
  • Berkey water purifiers work well at any time and anywhere even during hostile environments
  • Aqua pure drinking water filtration
  • Know your own alcohol beverage before sipping upon it
  • Amazing-still Hem
  • All-Freightfree
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap

Powered by amazing-still.com