Overview

• Investigators dismantled a site in São Bernardo do Campo tied to two fatal cases, arrested the proprietor in flagrante and brought eight suspects in for questioning, seizing bottles and equipment for forensic analysis.
• São Paulo reports 23 confirmed methanol intoxications and five deaths, with 171 notifications statewide and 148 still under investigation, according to health authorities.
• Forensic tests detected methanol at roughly 14.6% to 45.1% in seized bottles, and some containers held only methanol, as a new state protocol speeds closed‑bottle screening and falsification checks.
• Police are probing whether falsifiers bought fuel ethanol adulterated with methanol at gas stations, while officials dispute the extent of any organized‑crime role and stress that involvement remains unproven.
• The Health Ministry, with PAHO, delivered 2,500 doses of fomepizol and pharmaceutical‑grade ethanol to states, including 288 doses for São Paulo, as a judge authorized the immediate destruction of 100,000 seized bottles.