Eleven suspects were detained Wednesday and at least 5,043 liters of bootleg alcohol confiscated in operations across Turkey, according to security forces.
About 2,000 liters of bootleg wine was seized from a cottage by gendarmerie forces in an operation to prevent bootleg alcohol poisonings in central Nevşehir province. The owner of the cottage was taken into custody.
One suspect was nabbed in an operation in the northwestern province of Kocaeli where 110 liters of ethyl alcohol was confiscated after authorities received a tip-off.
Local gendarmerie teams conducted a raid in Mudanya in the northwestern province of Bursa acting on a tip, and seized 123 liters of bootleg wine and 10 liters of ethyl alcohol. The suspect at the address was taken into custody.
In Güzelyurt in the central province of Aksaray, gendarmerie teams took eight suspects into custody and seized 2,810 liters of bootleg wine.
Illegally produced alcohol is often laced with methanol, which can cause permanent blindness, metabolic disturbances and death. Consuming ethyl alcohol that hasn't gone through the fermentation process and is produced for other uses can also cause serious health problems.
Experts say the rise in the price of ethyl alcohol drove illegal producers to use methyl alcohol as a substitute, which in turn lead to a string of deaths caused by the lethal substance. Commercially produced alcohol is subject to high taxes, which have astronomically driven up the price in recent years.
Since Oct. 9, at least 31 people have died from consuming bootleg alcohol in Turkey's Aegean Izmir province, along with many others in Istanbul, the western Aydın province, central Kırıkkale, southern Mersin, northwestern Kırklareli, Aegean Muğla and the northern Zonguldak and Trabzon provinces.
