Four Bulgarians arrested for producing fake alcohol in Istanbul
08 September 2012 | 14:21 | FOCUS News Agency
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Istanbul. Istanbul police arrested a group dealing with illegal production of alcohol. Detainees were nine members of the group, four of whom are Bulgarian citizens. The police checked out four addresses in the districts Kumburgaz, Avdzhalar and Kyuchyukchekmedzhe within the course of a special operation involving over 50 police officers.
Two sheds for producing fake alcohol and three warehouses were found. There were 200,000 fake labels and stamps, 63 boxes of finished goods, 100,000 empty bottles and 20 barrels of ethanol. Turkish police said the total value of counterfeit alcohol is more than one million Turkish Liras.
There are doubts that the Russian tourists who died last year from poisoning by fake alcohol in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum have consumed false alcohol produced by arrested group.
via Four Bulgarians arrested for producing fake alcohol in Istanbul – FOCUS Information Agency.
Several Russians were poisoned by the counterfeit alcohol in Turkey
Turkish prosecutors have called the poisoning of Russian tourists with counterfeit alcohol during a yacht tour premeditated murder. Turkey is doing all it can to help the Russians in an effort to mitigate the damage done to the reputation of the Turkish tourist industry. Turkey is prepared to compensate the victims generously.
Thousands of Russian tourists have found themselves in trouble during vacations abroad. But gaps in Russia’s tourism laws make it difficult to secure compensation and to ensure that the guilty parties are punished.
“They do not deserve mercy”
“This is not a case of poisoning by bad products due to negligence,” said Celal Kilic, adviser on culture and tourism at the Turkish Embassy, on Wednesday in Moscow.
Mr. Kilic went further in talks with Alexander Radkov, acting director of Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency: “Those who added methanol to the alcohol knew what they were doing – adding a poison that can kill people. This person or persons do not deserve mercy.”
Several Russians were poisoned by the counterfeit alcohol. Two victims, Maria Shalyapina and Aigul Zalyayeva, died in a hospital in Antalya. Another Russian woman, Marina Sheveleva, died several days later in a Moscow hospital. The fourth victim, Alexander Zhuchkov, died in a hospital in the Turkish city of Denizli on Monday.
Discount tour
On June 8, the Russian Public Chamber published the results of its own investigation into the poisoning. Head of the Center for the Protection of Citizens Abroad Dmitry Davydenko said the Turkish authorities have fully cooperated with the inquiry.
The Public Chamber established that tickets for the yacht tour were sold at a discounted rate. “Tickets were sold for $18 per person whereas the average price is $33; quality suffered as a result,” Davydenko reported.
The nighttime excursion was organized by the Turkish company Orhan Denizcilik Marina Tourism and Ticaret. Experts say that until recently the company’s reputation was beyond reproach. All in all, there were about a hundred people on the yacht. According to Coral Travel representative Denis Pavlov, there were 30 employees of Odeon Tours (which, along with Coral Travel, is part OTI Holding) and another 30 Russian tourists on board, as well as citizens of other countries, including Europeans.
All passengers underwent medical check-ups after the first cases of poisoning. More than 20 people were taken to hospital. Four Russians were in critical condition and later died.
According to the Turkish Agricultural Ministry, the Russians were poisoned by the counterfeit whiskey Mister Burdon, which was imported into Turkey from Northern Cyprus by the company Jasmine and sold by the Ankara-based Birlik Gida at the local market.
The company sold 12,000 bottles of fake whiskey in the provinces of Ankara, Mersin, Antalya and Mugla. It would be premature to level accusations at specific individuals while the investigation is still underway. On June 7, France Presse quoted the Turkish news agency Anatolia as saying that the Turkish police have already confiscated 7,000 bottles of fake alcohol and arrested 22 people.
The Public Chamber believes that those responsible for the deaths of Russian tourists must face criminal prosecution.
If nobody had died…
It is not yet clear what compensation the victims and their families will receive.
Davydenko announced that Russia will seek compensation from the Turkish side. In the Public Chamber’s estimate, compensation could be as high as $100,000 per person. Lawyers for Odeon Tours have already filed a lawsuit against Orhan Denizcilik Marina Tourism and Ticaret.
Travel agencies and government bodies in both Russia and Turkey are doing all they can to deal with the consequences of the tragedy. Turkey has announced that it is prepared to pay for the medical treatment of the victims in the hospitals of Antalya and Denizli in excess of the sum covered by insurance. Turkey is also prepared to pay for the victims’ families to travel and stay in Turkey.
This is a huge scandal. It has seriously damaged the reputation of resorts in Turkey, and the actions of the Turkish authorities are justified. Cynical as it may sound, if nobody had died the outcome could have been different.
Russian tourists that find themselves in trouble during vacations abroad often fail to get compensation for material let alone psychological damage. Russian tourism laws do not specify the minimum insurance coverage for damages sustained during vacations. Experts, officials and travel agents keep talking about the need for this, but the laws have not yet been changed.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and may not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
via Turkey pays dearly for death of Russian tourists | Features & Opinion | RIA Novosti.
Three Russian tourists have died and 17 others have been sickened by suspected alcohol poisoning during a yacht party in Turkey, the Federal Tourism Agency said Wednesday.
Of the 70 participants of the yacht trip, which took place near the Aegean Sea resort of Bodrum late Friday, 20 Russians applied for medical aid over the weekend, complaining of nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness, the agency said in a statement on its web site.
The first two deaths, Maria Shalyapina, 27, and Aigul Zalyayeva, 19, occurred in Turkish hospitals earlier this week, it said. Marina Shevelyova, 22, returned to Moscow and died in a hospital late Tuesday.
Only one person, Viktoria Nikolayeva, remained hospitalized Wednesday, said Marina Badayeva, deputy director of the Coral Travel agency, which brought the Russians to Turkey. The tourist is in grave condition, Badayeva told Interfax.
Natives of Azerbaijan, Britain, Kazakhstan and Ukraine were also aboard the yacht but did not report any health problems, Interfax said, citing an unidentified Coral Travel representative.
The cause of the poisoning is believed to be whiskey mixed with methanol, an undrinkable type of alcohol used to produce gas, diesel fuel, perfumes and varnish, Argumenty i Fakty reported Wednesday.
Whiskey was not on the menu because local regulations ban spirits aboard tourist yachts, which means that the Russians might have brought it with them, Interfax said.
The yacht did not have a sailing license, and the tour was organized by a Turkish agency, the Federal Tourism Agency said in a separate statement.
Turkish authorities have opened a criminal investigation and will report to Russian authorities within a week, the statement said.
Turkey also will examine all retail alcohol sales and ask local travel agents to regularly instruct tourists on where and how to buy quality alcohol and food, it said.
Turkey has pledged to cover the medical bills of those who fell ill and pay for travel and accommodation costs for relatives who flew to Bodrum to assist them, RIA-Novosti reported.
The insurance company that provided mandatory coverage for the sickened tourists, Ingosstrakh, said it would fulfill its obligations as obliged under contract. But it was unclear whether the victims were entitled to compensation because alcohol poisoning is generally not covered by insurance contracts, RIA-Novosti said.
Moonshine kills thousands of people in Russia every year, but similar incidents also have been reported at Turkish resorts. In 2009, three young Germans died from drinking illicitly distilled liquor in the resort town of Kemer.
Russian tourist operators have reported no decrease in demand for trips to Turkey following the yacht incident, Interfax reported.
via 3 Russian Tourists Dead of Suspected Alcohol Poisoning | News | The Moscow Times.
Another Russian tourist died of alcohol poisoning in Turkey on Tuesday, the spokesman for Russia’s state tourism watchdog said on Tuesday.
Turkish Aegean resort of Bodrum
A group of Russian tourists in the popular Turkish Aegean resort of Bodrum were reported to have been hospitalized over the weekend with symptoms of severe alcohol poisoning after a yacht tour organized by a local company.
One woman, Maria Shalyapina, born in 1983, died on Monday as doctors were unable to stabilize her condition. Another one, Aigul Zalayeva, born in 1991, died on Tuesday in a hospital in Antalya, Oleg Moseyev of Rosturism said.
Two of the five people hospitalized in Turkey remain in critical condition, Moseyev said, quoting Russia’s consul general in Antanya, Alexander Tolstopyatenko. The three others are expected to be discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.
Two female Russian tourists who returned home on May 27 were reported to have been admitted to a hospital in Moscow. One of them is in satisfactory condition and the other in a more serious condition.
Tourists began registering symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting soon after returning from a yacht cruise organized for a group of more than 70 Russians. Some of the tourists were reported to have been losing consciousness.
Turkish prosecutors are considering initiating a criminal case against the owners of the yacht where the tourists were poisoned, Russian diplomats in Antalya said.
On Tuesday, during a meeting of the Russian-Turkish working group, representatives of the Turkish Ministry for Culture and Tourism announced that the ministry will take additional steps to assure tourist security at Turkish resorts. For instance, local tourism companies will be obligated to inform tourists about places where they can buy quality alcohol and food.
The Turkish alcohol and tobacco watchdog will also carry out checks at all hotels and shops selling alcohol.
MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti)
via Another Russian tourist dies of alcohol poisoning in Turkey | World | RIA Novosti.
