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ANKARA: At least 44 people have died in less than a week after consuming contraband alcohol in Turkey, where clandestine production has grown due to high taxes on alcoholic beverages, local media reported.
State television TRT reported that the victims had died since Friday in eight provinces, including Istanbul, and another 30 were taken to hospital. Police said Tuesday they had arrested 58 people suspected of making unauthorized alcohol.
Turkish media has reported in recent days several cases of people being poisoned after consuming illegally produced liquor, often mixed with methanol, which causes serious illnesses, including permanent blindness.
The practice has spread in recent years with the continued increase in alcohol taxes.
Since the conservative AKP government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power in 2002, the price of the national anise-flavored alcoholic drink, raki, has skyrocketed.
While a 70 cl bottle of raki cost on average 8 Turkish lira in 2002, today it costs about 170 lira (more than 18 euros).
Erdogan, a pious Muslim routinely accused by his opponents of attempting to Islamize society, has repeatedly opposed the use of alcohol and tobacco.
In 2013, his government passed a law restricting alcohol sales hours, and Erdogan himself often advises Turks to drink “ayran” made with yogurt instead of raki.
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