17 people killed and 22 hospitalised after drinking 'fake alcohol' in Turkish tourist hotspot Istanbul

Authorities have so far arrested eight people in connection with the illegal alcohol, after raiding locations in Sisli, Beyoglu, Fatih, Kagithane, Esenyurt, Umraniye, Uskudar, Sultangazi, and Bakirkoy. On Thursday 5 December police seized 516 bottles of illegally brewed alcohol in Fatih and Sultangazi.

The owner of a tobacco shop where the illicit alcohol was discovered was taken into custody. In Beyoğlu, officers posing as customers tracked down a suspect selling bootleg alcohol on a motorcycle.

Police said they were busted in the middle of a distribution trip. As a result, large quantities of counterfeit alcohol being prepared for sale were seized.

So far, 19 people were detained in similar busts, with eight subsequently charged. Local media reported that 410 litres of ethyl and methyl alcohol have been confiscated. As many as six distillers used for counterfeit alcohol and cigars have also been raided.

It comes after a British woman was among six people who died after drinking alcohol laced with suspected methanol in Laos. Methanol is a cheap but deadly chemical that is often added to drinks to make them stronger.

British lawyer Simone White, 28, died alongside Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both aged 19, two Danish women Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Frela Vennervald Sorensen, 21, US man James Louis Hutson, 57, after drinking contaminated drinks. Since their deaths in November, Laos police have arrested the owner of the factory identified as the suspected source of the methanol poisonings.

The manufacturing plant is located outside the capital city Vientiane and is understood to have been making the local Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey. The rundown factory has been shut down by authorities and the sale and consumption of Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whisky has been banned in the country since the deadly outbreak. Twelve people have been arrested by authorities so far for their connection to the poisonous alcohol.