Brazil Methanol Poisonings Hit 60 as São Paulo Raids Seize Thousands of Bottles and Net 3 Arrests

Overview

• Brazil’s Health Ministry reports 60 confirmed methanol intoxications and 15 deaths from adulterated alcoholic beverages, with 107 total notifications.
• São Paulo leads the outbreak with 47 confirmed cases, while Paraná, Pernambuco, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul also have confirmed patients.
• São Paulo Civil Police advanced Operation ‘Parece, mas não é’, executing 16–17 search warrants across the capital, interior cities and Londrina (PR), closing clandestine deposits and arresting three men.
• Thousands of vials, labels and packaging were seized and a bar owner in Sertãozinho was detained for selling bottles with altered color, odor and volume, as investigators probe schemes that allegedly use fuel-ethanol adulterated with methanol and reused bottles.
• The MP-SP’s ‘Garrafa Legal’ targeted irregular reuse of containers, and in Itanhangá (MT) about 30 whisky bottles were seized as two suspected cases remain hospitalized with samples sent for forensic analysis.