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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Anthony France

Britons are warned over deadly fake alcohol in Turkey after 103 deaths

High cost of alcohol in Turkey have pushed some consumers to bootleg supplies - (Getty Images)

Britons heading to Turkey are being warned about the risk of counterfeit alcohol after at least 103 deaths in the popular holiday destination.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has updated its list of risks for Ankara and Istanbul.

Fatalities and serious illness have resulted from iIllicit spirits passed off as big-name brands being sold in licensed stores, bars and restaurants.

The price of alcoholic drinks has rocketed in recent years due to heavy taxes imposed by president Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted ruling AK Party.

Firms also face increasingly hefty tax burdens and other restrictions.

In the major city of Istanbul, 70 people have been killed by poisoning since January 14, local station NTV reported.

Ankara governor Vasip said 33 died in his city since the start of 2025.

Another 230 people in both cities had been hospitalised by bootleg products, of which 40 were in a critical condition.

New advice on the FCDO’s website states holidaymakers should not drink homemade booze, check bottle seals are intact, labels printed in high quality and they don’t have spelling mistakes.

It warns: “In Turkey, including Ankara and Istanbul, people have died or suffered serious illness after drinking illegally produced local spirits and counterfeit bottles of branded alcohol.”

Marie Otteson died in Vang Vieng, a particularly popular among backpackers (Squire Patton Boggs/PA) (PA Media)

The FCDO says if British holidaymakers fall ill after drinking alcohol they should seek  urgent medical attention.

Turkish authorities are intensifying inspections to crack down on the production and distribution of counterfeit alcohol. Thirteeen suspects have been arrested in Ankara and 11 others in Istanbul.

Around 29 tonnes of fake alcohol were seized and 64 businesses shut down in the space of two weeks in Istanbul.

Turkey is one of several countries struggling to control the sale of highly dangerous alcohol.

British lawyer Simone White was one of six travellers killed by “poisoned alcohol” while on holiday in Vang Vieng, in Laos, after allegedly being given free shots In November.

Briton Greta Marie Otteson, 33, from Orpington, Kent, and her South African fiancé Arno Els Quinton were found dead on Boxing Day in Hoi An in Vietnam as a result of methanol poisoning.

They allegedly drank free homemade Limencello bought from a local restaurant.

Two Danes, two Australians and an American have also died after being taken to the hospital with similar symptoms.

In most cases of deaths by alcohol poisoning, too much methanol because of the distillation process is blamed. It may be used as a cheap substitute for ethanol.

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