Tehran, Oct 1(UNI) At least 27 people died in four different provinces of Iran after drinking bootleg alcohol, RFE/RL stated.
In a semi official report by ILNA, Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the state emergency services, said that 302 people have been taken to hospitals across Iran in recent days after they consumed tainted alcohol.
Khaledi said the deaths were reported in Hormozgan, North Khorasan, Alborz, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad provinces.
Despite the strict alcohol ban in Iran since 1979, which is punishable by floggings and cash fines, many Iranians drink foreign and homemade alcoholic beverages that are available on the black market.
The Bandar Abbas police chief, Esmail Mashayekh, said even a married couple was arrested on suspicion of producing the tainted liquor and that the suspected distributor has also been detained.
Earlier this month, four people, including a woman, died after drinking bootleg alcohol in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran.
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