Ankara, Jan 9 (IANS): A total of 46 suspects were detained in the past week in nationwide operations across Turkey targeting counterfeit alcohol producers, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.
The operation, dubbed 'Hook-16', was conducted by gendarmerie teams who raided four illegal alcohol factories involved in smuggling and producing fake alcoholic beverages, Yerlikaya said on social media platform X, without specifying the time frame of the operation.
The authorities seized a total of 50,105 litres of counterfeit and ethyl alcohol, along with 4,000 counterfeit tax stamps during the operations, he said.
The raids follow a sharp increase in counterfeit alcohol poisonings in Turkey in the weeks leading up to the New Year.
With the price of legitimate alcoholic beverages remaining high, bootleg alcohol has thrived in Turkey, creating an opportunity for criminal groups to profit by smuggling illicit drinks. These illegal producers often turn to cheaper and more dangerous substances, which has contributed to a rising death toll from counterfeit alcohol consumption in recent years.
Last month, the Istanbul Governor's Office had revealed that since the beginning of November, 37 people had died from poisoning due to consuming counterfeit alcohol in city.
The statement reported by Xinhua news agency noted that 73 individuals had been poisoned by counterfeit alcohol during this period, with 17 of them admitted to the hospital for treatment.
"In the investigations related to alcohol poisoning incidents, proceedings were initiated against 36 suspects who had provided counterfeit alcohol," the office said, adding that 14 of the suspects had been arrested.
The Anti-Smuggling and Organised Crime Branch of the Istanbul Police Department had been cracking down on the production and sale of counterfeit alcohol. The police had confiscated significant amounts of fake alcoholic drinks, as well as banderoles, labels, and other materials used for producing counterfeit alcohol.
As a result, 32 businesses had received fines for participating in the illegal production and sale of these counterfeit products.