Fake alcohol sold all over UK

 ST File Photo

POLICE in the UK found fake alcohol sold in shops, bars and clubs arond the country earlier this year.

Drink it, and you could die, reported Sky News.

The English news broadcaster said on Friday that chemicals used in anti-freeze, screen-wash and cleaning fluid were discovered in different parts of the country.

These bootleg drinks, which look the same as original brands such as Smirnoff vodka, are sold at lower prices.

Sky News quoted a consultant, Vikas Sodiwala, that the Accident & Emergency (A&E) department of Lincoln County Hospital was seeing more patients who thought their drinks were spiked, but they were consuming fake alcohol brands instead.

He said: "It can be extremely dangerous. The abdominal pain can be severe, and they will need medication to get on top of that."

"It can lead to liver failure. It can lead to kidney failure and it can ultimately lead to death."

Police raided three stores in Lincolnshire where they found fake Smirnoff vodka containing the solvent isopropanol - a chemical used as a cleaning fluid.

Chief Inspector Lee Pache, of Lincolnshire Police, said the sale of fake alcohol is happening all over the UK.

"Talking to my colleagues in other areas, if you look at the infrastructure that takes place for the production of this alcohol, the bottling and also the outsourcing to other parts of the country, it is clearly a huge problem," he said.

Alcohol fraud costs the UK around £600 million ($1.2 billion) a year in unpaid duty.

(Source: SkyNews)