Alcohol sales have soared in Turkey – prompting a rise in bootlegging (Image: Getty)
Brits escaping the UK winter to have been warned to be careful when venturing out to local bars and restaurants for a drink.
Over 100 people have died after drinking bootlegged booze since the New Year, according to the NTV news station, after being sold illegal drinks disguised as big-name brands.
70 people have reportedly died since January 14 in Istanbul from illicit poisoning, while the toll is at 33 in the capital city of Ankara since January 1.
A further 230 were hospitalised, 40 of whom were in a critical condition, the outlet said.
Turkey’s Islamist-rooted government has imposed heavy taxes on alcohol sales in recent years, with the , which has been in power since 2002, hiking levies on both alcohol and tobacco items on January 3.
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70 people have reportedly died from drinking illegal alcohol in Istanbul since January 14 (Image: Getty)
While authorities have pledged to crack down on bootlegged booze being distributed across the country, the spate of deaths suggest cheaper, homemade spirits are being flogged to visitors and locals alike.
Government efforts to include seizing tens of thousands of litres of the illegal alcohol, carrying out regular inspections of licensed premises and installing cameras at licensed shops.
They have also reportedly arrested 11 people and seized over 86,000 litres of bootlegged alcohol in Istanbul and taken 13 into custody alongside 102 tons of methanol and ethanol in Ankara following the poisonings.
In the last decade, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken measures including banning alcohol brands from event sponsorships and introduced restrictions on alcohol advertising and media representation.
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It comes after six people including British backpacker and lawyer Simone White, 28, died from after drinking tainted vodka in Laos last year.
Methanol is often substituted for ethanol in cheaper, illicit forms of alcohol and can cause blindness, liver damage and death.
Turkey’s national liquor raki is the country’s most commonly-bootlegged alcohol after jumping in price to around 1,300 lira (£28.93) per litre in supermarkets, according to Rudaw.
“Because alcohol prices are very high, people can’t afford to drink anymore. I mean, you can’t tell people not to drink, but they are forced to drink anyway. What do they do in this situation?” Soner Arkan, a liquor store owner in Istanbul, told the broadcaster.
“When prices are very high, people drink wherever they find cheap alcohol,” he added.