Scrap seller turns ‘liquor’ maker
Jahangir Alam used to earn his living by selling scraps collected from street children in the capital's Chawkbazar.
Three months ago, however, the 45-year-old who did not even complete his school education was appointed the "chief chemist" of a factory manufacturing fake foreign liquor.
Jahangir used to make fake vodka and whisky in a factory on the second floor of a small building in the capital's Bhatara.
At least six people have died in the capital after drinking the whisky and vodka made by Jahangir, according to police's detective branch (DB).
A team of DB (Gulshan Division) police said they learned this information when they conducted a drive in Jahangir's fake foreign liquor factory late Monday night.
According to sources, in the last month, at least 26 people have died consuming toxic liquor in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Bogura.
Of them, 10 people including university students have died in Dhaka alone, 13 others in Bogura.
Mashiur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Gulshan Division) of DB police, told The Daily Star yesterday that Jahangir used to work in the factory for a daily salary of Tk 500.
From the factory owned by Nasir Ahmed alias Rahul, 48, they used to deliver around 250 fake bottles of different brands of foreign liquor per week, he said.
During the drive on Monday, DB police arrested Nasir, Jahangir and four others -- Sayed Al Amin, 30, manager of the factory, Redowan Ullah, 35, the wholesale distributor, and distributors Sagor Bepari, 27, and Monotosh Chandro, 35.
Abdullah Al Mamun, the owner of a private advertisement firm, and his friend Shehzad Tony bought a bottle of vodka last Friday for Tk 7,500 from the factory's distributor Akash. Drinking the liquor, Mamun fell ill and died at a city hospital.
Shehzad is currently undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Learning of the incidents, detectives started investigating and arrested the syndicate members, said police.
DC Mashiur Rahman said Nasir actually used to work in different hotels as an attendant. Sometimes, he used to buy bottles of foreign liquor for Tk 2,500 each from different warehouses and sold those to customers for Tk 3,000, he said.
After the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, Nasir lost his job. Recently, strict measures were also taken by warehouses about selling foreign liquor in the local market, said police.
This created a scarcity of liquor and Nasir seized the chance, joining forces with others to start selling fake liquor.
According to law enforcers, Jahangir, who had a scrap material shop in Old Dhaka, used to buy a gallon of spirit from the capital's Mitford area for Tk 10,000.
The syndicate then bought mineral water bottles in which they would mix sugar, colour, and a portion of the spirit. They would pour their mixture in old bottles of alcohol bought from roadside shops and the "foreign liquor" would then be ready for sale.
From a gallon of spirit, the syndicate used to make around 100 bottles of "foreign liquor", which they sold for Tk 7-8,000, said DC Mashiur.
Mashiur further said they have collected a diary from the fake factory containing details of over hundreds of customers who bought the fake liquor from the syndicates.
Asked about death of Gazipur victims, DC Mashiur Rahman said that the samples collected from the Gazipur and Mohammadpur victims matched those of the bottles seized from the fake factory.
Yesterday, a case was filed with Sreepur Police Station in Gazipur against unnamed accused in connection with the deaths of three staffers of a media organisation, allegedly from ingesting toxic liquor.
The station's Sub-inspector Nayan Bhuiyan filed the case, our Gazipur correspondent reports quoting the SI.
Two staffers of the organisation died on Sunday and one on Monday after ingesting toxic alcohol during a company trip to a resort. Thirteen of the party of around 43 are currently hospitalised, according to the case statement.
In Bogura, at least 13 people died within the last 72 hours after consuming toxic liquor, reports our Bogura Correspondent.
At least five suspected to have drunk toxic alcohol died while undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the city yesterday while another person died on Monday. Five of the deceased were identified as Abdul Jalil, 65, Zulfiqar Ali, 55, Abu Kalam, 52, Mehedi Hasan, 25, and Laju Mia, 32.
Neighbours said Mehedi had taken rectified spirit from a local homeopathy shop on Monday night, became sick and died on way to the hospital yesterday morning.
Another Bogura man, Abdul Ahad, died on Monday in his room. Family members admitted that he used to have alcohol regularly and also drank the night before. He passed away in his sleep.
Humayan Kabir, officer in-charge of Bogura Sadar Police Station said, the forensic department of the Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital have been conducting autopsies on 11 people suspected of dying from toxic liquor consumption within the last 72 hours.
A case against four homeopathy shop owners and some unknown accused has been filed with the sadar police station regarding the incident, he said.
Monower Hosain Ripon, 42, a victim's brother, filed the case.
However, police were not able to arrest any of the accused till filing of this report last night.
Ali Ashraf Bhuiyan, superintendent of police of Bogura, told this newspaper that they did not get the autopsy reports of the deceased yet.
"Once we get the report, we may be able to say clearly how the victims died, [whether by] consuming toxic alcohol or not," he said, adding that the police are conducting drives to arrest the accused homeopathy shop owners and others involved.
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