At least seven people die in Russia after drinking bootleg alcohol, ministry says

At least seven people have died in Russia's northwest Leningrad region after they drank bootleg alcohol, the interior ministry said on Friday, and three others were being treated for poisoning.

A resident of the town of Gostitsy, near the Estonian border, had been arrested on suspicion of selling the alcohol to fellow villagers, an interior ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

The Telegram channel 112 put the death toll at 12 and said that the bootlegger's wife had been admitted to hospital in a serious condition after trying her husband's product.

Russia tightened controls on the production and sale of alcohol after 77 people in Siberia died after drinking cheap moonshine in 2016, but the consumption of homemade alcohol remains a serious problem.

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In June 2023, at least 30 people died in multiple regions across western Russia after drinking adulterated cider.

Industry experts say rising retail alcohol prices and growing regional restrictions on its sale have seen some people turn to homemade brews with sometimes deadly consequences.