That's so pale: who poisons Russians with fake alcohol
The mass poisoning by surrogate alcohol in the Leningrad region has once again reminded of the problem of controlling the production of alcohol-containing products and their sale. 11 people who were involved in the illegal sale of alcohol-containing products in the region have already been arrested in the case. Izvestia, together with experts, found out where the deadly swill comes from.
Methyl poison
Investigators have established that the surrogate alcohol, which caused the death of at least 38 people, was sold from a temporary storage warehouse for alcohol-containing products in the village of Trubnikov Bor (Tosnensky district of the Leningrad region). According to the materials of the criminal case, "during the inspection of the scene, a plastic bottle with a label from the Peipsi Pearl mineral water with a volume of 0.5 liters, partially filled with a transparent liquid with the smell of alcohol, was also found and seized."
Temporary storage warehouse for alcohol-containing products in the village of Trubnikov Bor
The forensic examination has already established that the cause of death of the victims was methyl alcohol, traces of which were found in high concentrations in their blood. The criminal case was taken over by the prosecutor's office. Inspections began in Vsevolozhsk, Vyborg, Tosnensky and Kirishi city districts. Five temporary warehouses for alcoholic and alcohol-containing products were subjected to an audit. According to the results of the inspections, the prosecutor's office of the Leningrad region has already seized more than 5,000 liters of alcohol-containing liquid.
Seller's Benefit
The sale of surrogate alcohol is still widespread in the regions. A bottle of swill costs from 50 to 100 rubles, but this is a steady income — one satisfied customer will bring a dozen more of the same. Sales in a marginal environment are established and work without interruption — at least until the death of the buyer from alcoholism or poisoning by a surrogate. For a retailer, this is several thousand rubles a day, for a wholesaler — tens of thousands.
— The main difficulty for such "entrepreneurs" is to find a more or less safe industrial alcohol at a bargain price and establish a channel for its sale or theft. The liquid can be bought from storekeepers and staff and moved in barrels and cans to artisanal workshops," a police source tells Izvestia.
In illegal workshops, products are packaged in containers under the guise of drinking water or household chemicals and sold through their own channels, the policeman explains.
"Naturally, at all stages of this cycle, it is clear to the participants that the matter is unclean and the risk of death for the end user is prohibitive," he says. — Actually, the consumer fully understands that he can die. But due to his illness, his desire to drink is stronger than his sense of self-preservation.
According to the operative, as a rule, such criminal business is controlled by ethnic criminal groups, often associated with the local administration.
Comprehensive measures such as product labeling, an increase in the minimum selling price, and increased controls led to a marked decrease in unaccounted-for alcohol consumption and related deaths in the 2000s and 2010s. But today the danger has increased again — the reason lies in social factors and the weakening of control over producers of illegal alcohol.
Surrogate and counterfeit
According to estimates by State Duma deputy and head of the All-Russian movement "Sober Russia" Sultan Khamzaev, the percentage of artisanal deadly alcohol produced varies from 20% to 30% of the market from region to region, and if you add counterfeit products made on the basis of cheap ethyl alcohol, the total volume will be at least 50% of the market.
— There is an EGAIS system, it is imperfect, it records only the legal alcohol market. But those who want to work in the shadows initially refuse to comply with any established rules and frameworks," says the deputy.
A raid by police officers, the Department of Regional Security and the Department of Trade to identify points of sale of counterfeit alcohol in one of the grocery stores
He stressed that law enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies seize huge amounts of illegal alcohol, which they are helped by the members of Sober Russia.
"Protecting the health of citizens is a priority outlined by the Russian president,— Khamzaev says. — The KPIs of officials of regional authorities should include an assessment of the situation in the field of protecting citizens' health from alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
Cases of mass poisoning by surrogate alcohol in Russia:
Orenburg region, 2021. 36 people died as a result of poisoning with counterfeit alcohol. The victims purchased alcoholic beverages from one supplier, who sold the goods through a network of illegal points of sale.
Sverdlovsk region, 2016. In the city of Krasnoturinsk, methanol poisoning claimed the lives of 14 people. A batch of counterfeit alcohol was found at sellers at the local market and in shops within walking distance.
Irkutsk region, 2016. 78 people became victims of Hawthorn, which caused a public outcry and a wave of inspections throughout the country. This poisoning has become one of the most widespread in the modern history of Russia.
How does methanol kill
Surrogate alcohol is not only technical liquids or cosmetic lotions, but also fake alcohol sold under the guise of legal alcohol, Ruslan Isaev, president of the Independent Narcological Guild, a psychiatrist and narcologist, told Izvestia.
— The main danger is methanol (methyl alcohol), ethylene glycol, as well as various aldehydes, fusel oils, and technical solvents.
Methanol is the most toxic component, which practically does not differ from ethanol in appearance and smell, the doctor notes.
— Even small doses of methanol can be fatal: The toxic dose of methanol is about 10 ml of pure substance (about two teaspoons). Such a dose can already cause severe poisoning with the risk of blindness. The lethal dose is approximately 30 ml of pure methanol (slightly more than two tablespoons). However, there are cases of deaths from fewer deaths if a person has not received timely assistance.
He noted that the calculations are about pure methanol, and the concentration in surrogates can be different, so it is impossible to predict the exact dose.
According to Ruslan Isaev, methanol in the body turns into formaldehyde and formic acid, which causes severe damage to the central nervous system, severe metabolic acidosis, blindness (a characteristic symptom is "fog" or "snowflakes" in front of the eyes) and death.
— Symptoms often do not appear immediately — after 8-24 hours, so a person may not feel danger, — says the narcologist.
The only antidote
In case of poisoning, an ambulance should be called immediately.
— If possible, you need to save a bottle or a sample of liquid for doctors, — says Isaev.
Before the ambulance arrives, you can drink some ethyl alcohol, the doctor says.
— Ethanol is the only available antidote at home, it slows down the conversion of methanol into toxic metabolites (formaldehyde, formic acid). This is not a treatment, but first aid, which can buy time before hospitalization.
The chances of salvation directly depend on how quickly a person seeks medical help, the doctor says.
— If this is done in the first hours, the chance of survival and avoiding blindness is much higher.
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