Selangor police conducted 12 raids and arrested seven individuals in the Klang Valley in connection with the poisoning case from alcohol consumption yesterday.
State police chief Mazlan Mansor said the operation was conducted in grocery store premises in Bukit Kemuning, Taman Seri Muda and Kampung Baru Subang in Shah Alam; Taman Sri Gombak, Taman Daya and Taman Sri Ehsan in Kuala Lumpur; and Bandar Rinching in Kajang.
He said the seven individuals arrested, aged in their 40s, were store operators and their employees, including two Myanmar and three Indian nationals.
"In the raids, 1,030 bottles of whiskey and 1,767 cans of beer of various brands were seized.
“The arrests and seizures were made under Section 135 of the Customs Act 1967,” he told a media conference at the Selangor Contingent Police Headquarters here today.
Asked on the possibility that the premises had obtained the supply of alcohol from the same supplier, Mazlan said the matter was still being investigated.
“After news of the alcohol poisoning were reported in the media, several grocery shops closed immediately, probably because they do not want to be involved or wanted to get rid of the alcoholic drinks that can implicate them to the offence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mazlan said that police were still awaiting the official report on the cause of the victims’ death from the hospital.
The Health Ministry confirmed that as of 5pm yesterday, 19 people had died from methanol poisoning after consuming alcoholic drinks.
He said his ministry received notification for 51 cases of methanol poisoning, comprising 45 cases in Selangor and six cases in Kuala Lumpur.
- Bernama
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