MOSCOW, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Leningrad Oblast Prosecutor's Office announced Sunday that 14 people have been detained across three criminal cases involving fatal poisonings caused by surrogate alcohol.
Individuals "involved in distributing the toxic substance have been detained, and over 1,300 liters of the surrogate alcohol were seized," the office said in a statement.
The supervisory authority reported Sunday the arrest of three suspects in a Leningrad Oblast surrogate alcohol case: a 60-year-old woman and two men aged 78 and 54.
Investigations revealed the woman had illegally procured and stored ethyl alcohol, alcoholic beverages and alcohol-containing food products without the required license. She stored the products in the district of Slantsy, repeatedly transporting and selling them to other suspects -- a practice that led to the deaths of several local residents.
In a related operation, the prosecutor's office said eight individuals linked to surrogate alcohol distribution were detained after searches in the Slantsy and Volosovsky districts.
The crackdown follows reports Friday from the regional prosecutor's office about multiple poisonings in the Slantsy district. Data from the Leningrad Oblast Administration show 19 people died from alcohol poisoning in September, with methanol confirmed in eight cases. Another person remains hospitalized in critical condition. ■
