Turkey death toll from bootleg alcohol rises to 152

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ISTANBUL - At least 152 people have died in Turkey since the start of the year after drinking bootleg alcohol, state news agency Anadolu reported Wednesday.

The figure updated an earlier figure of 133 dead given last Friday by Turkish media, which included 70 in Istanbul and 63 in Ankara, where an additional 36 patients were in intensive care.

Poisonings from adulterated alcohol are common in Turkey, where private production has exploded as authorities crank up taxes on alcoholic drinks.

But this year, the death toll has climbed sharply in a short space of time.

Bootleg alcohol is often tainted with methanol, a toxic substance that can cause blindness, liver damage and death. Experts say just one glass can be deadly, with the effects becoming apparent only six hours later.

Citing an interior ministry source, Anadolu said police had detained 983 people in connection with "the production and sale of counterfeit alcohol" and seized 445,016 litres of product.

Although Turkey is a nominally secular country, alcohol taxes have risen sharply under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Muslim who vociferously opposes drinking.

Buying a litre bottle of raki, Turkey's aniseed-flavoured national liquor, from a supermarket currently costs around $35 (sh128,793) in a country where the monthly minimum wage is $600 (sh2.2m).

Critics say such high prices are fuelling the production of moonshine.