Alcohol disclosure: where did the methanol that poisoned people in the Leningrad Region come from

On September 29, law enforcement officers detained three more suspects in the case of mass poisoning of residents of the Leningrad region with surrogate alcohol, the Investigative Committee reported. Thus, the total number of detainees is already 11 people. Shortly before that, investigators discovered a warehouse where products were stored, which probably caused the deaths of people. According to the Izvestia source, 33 people have died from alcohol surrogate poisoning so far. Earlier, charges of distributing counterfeit goods were brought against several residents of the village of Gostitsy, who diluted alcohol and sold it to fellow villagers. However, according to the new investigation data, the distribution network of illegal products could have been much wider. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Who is behind the massive poisoning by surrogate alcohol

An investigation into the mass deaths of local residents from surrogate alcohol continues in the Leningrad Region. These drinks were distributed by a commercial organization located in the village of Trubnikov Bor, Irina Volk, an official representative of the Russian Interior Ministry, said on September 29.

"My colleagues from the GUEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, together with the police units of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, have identified the alleged source of the distribution of low-quality alcohol," she said.

Law enforcement officers are checking Custodian LLC. Its main activity is the warehousing and storage of products, according to the Rusprofile database.

On Saturday, September 27, it was reported that at that time eight people had already been detained in connection with the sale of surrogate alcohol. According to the Investigative Committee, the court has already chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention for six of them.

Three more defendants were detained on Monday, September 29. According to investigators, they organized distribution channels in the Kingisepp and Volosovsky districts of the Leningrad region for alcohol-containing liquids dangerous to the life and health of citizens and stored in a rented warehouse.

A criminal case has been initiated under the article on the production and sale of products that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life or health of consumers, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence.

"Work continues to identify and detain all those involved. Searches were conducted, during which cans of alcohol—containing liquid were found and seized," the Investigative Committee added.

On September 26, the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported mass poisoning with surrogate alcohol in the city of Slantsy, Leningrad region. In one morning, ten people died as a result of intoxication, then it became known about the death of two more. Now, according to the Izvestia source, the number of victims has increased to 33.

All the dead and injured from the Slantsevsky, Gatchina, Kingisepp, Tosnensky and Volosovsky districts consumed illegally sold alcohol-containing products. Nikolai Boytsov, a 78-year-old resident of the village of Gostitsy in the Slantsevsky district, was first detained and then arrested on suspicion of selling it. He was making alcohol right in his apartment, empty glass bottles and plastic cans with a volume of up to ten liters with the smell of alcohol were found there.

Olga Stepanova, a 60-year—old kindergarten employee, was also detained - according to the investigation, she supplied alcohol to Boytsov, from which he made surrogate alcohol. The third person involved in the case, Alexander Kulakov, kept cans of alcohol in the garage.

Boitsov stated in the courtroom that he had bought and diluted alcohol, but there had never been any complaints about the quality of his products. He claimed that he bought alcohol in bulk from Stepanova. The woman's relatives insist that the empty cans that the investigators found, although they had been lying in her attic, had been there for many years. In their opinion, Stepanova is being framed by her ex-husband, who had some dealings with Boytsov in the 90s.

"I was doing about the same things that Nikolai Boytsov is doing, it wasn't a constant activity," Olga Stepanova's daughter—in—law, Tatiana, told Izvestia.

At the same time, a few years ago, Fighters had already been caught in moonshine, but got off with a fine of 2 thousand rubles. A source familiar with the situation noted that local residents had been buying surrogate alcohol from Boytsov for many years.

"They knew this man for a long time. Alcohol was bought from him for at least 15 years," the source told Izvestia.

According to him, this is not the first time that local residents have faced the consequences of poisoning with a surrogate: seven years ago, an elderly woman's legs failed after drinking alcohol purchased at the same point. On September 25, her 42-year-old grandson was found dead in his apartment after drinking alcohol purchased from the same seller.

Where do they get the methanol from

Such stories are almost always associated with illegal alcohol trafficking and the use of substandard or technical raw materials, said Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the VMT Consult analytical agency.

"If the examination confirms the presence of methanol or other toxic components [in the bodies of the victims], then we can say that illegal alcohol was the cause of the tragedy," she said. — Such liquids are often distributed through the "black market", where there is no quality control, storage conditions are violated, and the process of bottling and dilution of alcohol is not regulated in any way. As a result, the final product becomes deadly.

Methanol is an industrial alcohol that is used in the chemical, paint and automotive industries, said Alexey Gavrishev, lawyer and managing partner of AVG Legal.

— It is deadly for humans, but at the same time it is in relatively free circulation for business, — the expert noted. — Methanol enters the "household" market through several channels: illegal bottling plants for alcohol-containing liquids, substitution for the sale of technical liquids, including glass washing ones, as well as the use of gray purchase schemes at enterprises.

According to him, the main problem is that control over the actual movement of methanol remains weak: current legislation restricts only its retail sale.

— From the point of view of responsibility, the Criminal Code provides for harsh sanctions, — Alexey Gavrishev emphasized. — If intent or negligence in the sale of counterfeit alcohol is proven, this may qualify as the production and sale of goods that do not meet safety requirements. In this case, the sanctions reach up to 10 years in prison upon death. In case of mass casualties, retraining is possible.

The court will take into account both the number of deaths and the degree of awareness of the accused about the nature of the raw materials.

— If it can be proved that they knew about the deadly danger of alcohol, it is possible to re-qualify for more serious articles. But so far, the accusation is based on negligence, that is, the absence of direct intent," Ekaterina Kosareva added. — At the same time, even with such qualifications, the court has the right to apply real deadlines, given the scale of the tragedy.

Each such incident is not an isolated case, but a consequence of the fact that control over the market of methanol and alcohol—containing liquids in Russia remains selective, and this problem has not been completely solved, experts say.