Ethyl

With New Year's Eve approaching, concerns are mounting across Istanbul as counterfeit alcohol cases rise, resulting in seven fatalities reported so far.

As eight individuals receive medical treatment in hospitals, police have launched an investigation, detaining 12 suspects following operations at various locations, including entertainment venues.

Turkish forces seized 18 tons of bootleg ethyl alcohol on June 15 in an operation in Istanbul.

Local gendarmerie teams launched the operation after receiving a tip on a possible attempt to sell the ethyl alcohol to manufacturers of counterfeit alcoholic beverages and hand sanitizer.

Turkey removed tariffs on ethyl alcohol imports amid coronavirus pandemic, announcing the decision in the Official Gazette on March 25.

The move aims to support production of disinfectant and cologne, traditional ethanol-based scented disinfectant in Turkey.

The tariff on bulk ethyl alcohol imports was 10 percent.

Officials at Customs Lom detained 6,000 liters of ethyl alcohol traveling with fake documents to an EU country.