Increase in Alcohol Poisoning Victims in Karaj: 100 Poisoned and 14 Dead

Update: According to the judiciary of Alborz province, the number of detainees in this case has reached 6, and according to Tasnim news agency, the number of poisoned individuals has reached 'about 100'. One day after the announcement of '88 individuals poisoned and 14 dead' due to 'alcohol consumption' in Karaj by the head of the judiciary of Alborz province, the spokesperson for 'FARAJA' reported the arrest of 3 of the 'main producers'. Official Iranian news agencies, including Fars news agency affiliated with security institutions, published this news on Saturday morning quoting Saeed Montazer Al-Mahdi, the spokesperson for FARAJA. The Iranian state news agency reported on Friday, June 16, citing 'unofficial sources', that the number of casualties from alcohol poisoning in Karaj was 14, a report later confirmed by the head of the judiciary of the province. According to this report, the poisoned individuals, who were residents of the Islamabad and Hasarak areas of Karaj and aged between 20 and 50, have been hospitalized in four hospitals: Kowsar, Alborz, Rajai, and Kasra in Karaj. The reports did not mention the gender of the poisoned individuals. Previously, Hossein Babakan, head of the Social Security Hospital in Alborz province, stated that the poisoning of these individuals was due to the consumption of methanol alcohol. This news comes as Hamid Hadavand, the police chief of Alborz, recently announced the arrest of distributors of 'poisonous alcoholic beverages' in Karaj and the closure of two industrial and production units in this regard. On June 9, Hadavand referred to the deaths and alcohol poisoning of several citizens in the Mehrshahr area of Karaj, stating that 4 individuals involved in this case had been arrested and one factory producing industrial alcohol and one medical supply unit had also been shut down. This police official did not provide information about the number of fatalities in this case, the timing of the incident, or the identities of the detainees. Under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the purchase, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages are prohibited. However, reports indicate that the preparation and sale of alcoholic beverages have become widespread underground in the absence of legal oversight in the country. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of poisonings resulting from alcohol consumption leaking to the media. For instance, an alcohol poisoning incident in Bandar Abbas in May 2022 claimed the lives of 14 people and sent dozens more to the hospital.