Booleg booze case could put 18 in jail

Estonian police have handed to prosecutors cases against 18 people they suspect caused the deaths of 68 victims of a mass methanol poisoning in the Parnu area last fall.

One of the suspects could face a murder charge resulting in life imprisonment while the others are suspected of criminal negligence resulting in death, said police spokesman Robert Korvits. They are also suspected of causing injury to another 80 people.

The methanol was distributed in the guise of flavored bootleg vodka, which many depend on as a cheap alternative to the licensed variety. Most victims died during a two-week period usually within a few hours of drinking the poison.

The 18 were arrested earlier this year and are now being held in custody.

Police suspect the 34-year-old man at the center of the case sold 2,000 liters of methanol and organized its distribution, from which he earned a net profit of 50,000 kroons (3,125 euros).

"He was aware of the fact that the liquid supplied to illegal vodka distributors as spirit was nothing but poisonous methanol," said police spokesman Robert Korvits.