Ninety-two people in Istanbul have been taken to hospital with methanol poisoning since Jan. 13, and 37 of them have died. The numbers come from the Istanbul governor’s office, which tied the cases to counterfeit alcohol.
Among the survivors, 48 are still being treated, and 27 of those are in intensive care on ventilators. Four patients finished treatment on regular wards and went home. One refused care, and two walked out without permission. Victims arrived at hospitals in several districts, among them Güngören, Beyoğlu, Bakırköy and Başakşehir.
Arrests and seizures
Police have detained 15 suspects accused of pushing large amounts of fake alcohol onto the market. Four were arrested on charges of “intentional manslaughter.” Eight are still being processed, and three were let go.
Since Jan. 1, authorities have seized 29 tons of counterfeit alcohol across the city. They have also pulled the licenses of 64 businesses found selling it, and cases against the people who ran them are going through the courts. Last year’s operations took 302 tons off the market.
New rules for sellers
The governor’s office announced extra measures to stop the sale of fake drink. Under a directive dated Oct. 10, 2024, any business selling alcohol must run a high-resolution camera system that records around the clock and covers the whole premises from Jan. 1, 2025, and footage must be kept for 30 days.
A second directive, dated Jan. 10, 2025, says businesses that sell or serve counterfeit or illegal alcohol, or that lack a sales and service license from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Tobacco and Alcohol Department, face administrative action. Municipalities will revoke the operating and business licenses of anyone caught selling fake alcohol. The directive also covers venues offering open alcohol service or sales outside zones that local councils have approved.
District administrations have been told in writing to form inspection teams. Each will bring together officials from the Provincial Directorate of Trade, the district police, the gendarmerie, the municipality, the health directorate and the agriculture and forestry directorate. They are to inspect continuously, day and night.
Why bootleg liquor sells
The poisonings did not stop in Istanbul. Anadolu, the state news agency, reported on Feb. 17 that at least 124 people had died in Ankara and Istanbul over six weeks, with dozens more in intensive care. In Ankara, 54 had died and another 40 were fighting for their lives.
Alcohol taxes have risen sharply under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who opposes drinking. A liter of raki, the aniseed-flavored national spirit, costs about 1,300 lira ($37.20) at a supermarket, in a country where the minimum wage only recently reached $600 a month. Critics say prices like that drive people toward moonshine. Methanol is often substituted for ethanol because it is cheaper, and it can cause blindness, liver damage and death.
Sources
- Istanbul's bootleg alcohol crisis claims 37 lives, 92 hospitalized
- Bootleg alcohol kills at least 124 people in Turkey in just 6 weeks, state news agency reports
