The fifth department of the Investigative Committee’s Directorate based in the city of Novosibirsk continues the investigation in the death of people in Irkutsk after drinking some alcohol-containing substance (part 3 of Article 238 of the RF Penal Code – production, storage, selling of goods and products which do not meet safety standards entailing death of two or more people by negligence).
So far law enforcement authorities have registered 123 reports on methanol poisoning. 76 people died after drinking haw concentrate.
23 people, including deputy head of the regional office of the Federal Consumer Protection Service Mikhail Luzhnov, have been detained as suspects. Luzhnov is suspected negligence under Part 3 of Article 293 of the RF Penal Code. It has been revealed, that since May the Rospotrebnadzor’s regional office has received multiple reports on illegal sale of haw concentrate in Irkutsk Region and on the ban of retail selling of the said product. The investigators believe that Luzhnov failed to take necessary steps to check the said reports.
The investigators together with police officers have conducted investigative and search operations in one of districts in Irkutsk. They found a storehouse of methyl alcohol used to produce the toxic substance. The investigators confiscated more than 10 tons of the liquid and more than 6 tons of car windscreen wiper produced from it. In addition, all haw liqueur dealing channels have been revealed and blocked by now. The investigators have confiscated products made from methyl alcohol. Thanks to all those operations the last report on poisoning was received on 20 December, so the number of victims has not changed since the operations.
Acting Head of Media Relations S.L. Petrenko
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