Brazil Methanol Poisoning: Police Raid Bottling Network as Cases Reach 32

Overview

• São Paulo’s Civil Police launched Operation Poison Source, serving 20 search warrants across eight cities with about 150 officers to target an alleged falsification network.
• Six suspects were arrested during Tuesday’s raids, and earlier forensic work found seized bottles with methanol concentrations as high as 45%.
• The Health Ministry reports 32 confirmed intoxications nationwide with 181 cases under investigation, including 28 cases and five deaths in São Paulo, three cases in Paraná and one in Rio Grande do Sul.
• The federal government imported 2,500 units of the antidote fomepizol and expanded reference testing through CIATox/Unicamp and Fiocruz to speed confirmations.
• Investigators are examining a possible fuel‑station supply link for the methanol, while clinicians have used ethanol when needed, including a case stabilized with vodka under toxicology guidance.