Nursery teacher arrested after vodka poisoning kills 25

At least 25 people have died in Russia’s Leningrad region after drinking vodka laced with lethal levels of methanol. A local nursery teacher has been arrested in connection with the illicit trade.

Authorities in northwest Russia confirmed that 25 residents of Slantsy and nearby villages lost their lives in September after consuming bootleg vodka containing toxic amounts of methanol. The Leningrad regional prosecutor’s office stated that forensic tests showed “high or lethal levels” of methanol in multiple victims. The first deaths were reported from 10 September and the toll climbed steadily as more bodies were examined, according to the Russian news agency, TASS.

Victims were almost entirely pensioners buying cheap, unlabelled spirits at around 90 pence a bottle. Investigators said the deaths were concentrated in economically deprived towns close to the Estonian border, where moonshine consumption is widespread.

Investigations and arrests

The Investigative Committee announced that three people had been detained and face trial under Article 238 of the Russian criminal code for selling products that caused the deaths of two or more people. In all, police detained around 14 individuals during the inquiry and seized more than 1,300 litres of illicit alcohol, equivalent to over 2,600 bottles, according to the regional prosecutor.

Among those in custody are 78-year-old Nikolai Boytsov and 60-year-old Olga Stepanova. Court documents allege that Stepanova, a kindergarten teacher, illegally purchased industrial alcohol and stored it in Slantsy before supplying it to Boytsov, who then sold it locally. Searches of Boytsov’s apartment uncovered dozens of empty bottles and 10-litre canisters with traces of alcohol.

Stepanova’s husband Yuri, speaking to local outlet MRKU, claimed his wife was innocent and insisted police had only found old empty canisters. He said she was a “decent woman” with forty years of work experience.

Official response

Interior ministry spokesperson major general Irina Volk confirmed in a statement on Telegram that investigators had traced the counterfeit vodka to a commercial firm in Trubnikov Bor in Tosnensky district. Prosecutors said the Slantsevsky city court has ordered pre-trial detention for the main suspects while investigations continue.

The prosecutor’s office warned residents not to purchase alcohol of unknown origin and confirmed ongoing checks on local shops and warehouses.

A recurring tragedy

This latest case is part of a grim pattern. In August this year, at least ten tourists died in Sochi after drinking counterfeit grappa bought at a market. Two women have since been charged with selling the lethal spirit. In 2023, a batch of counterfeit cider was linked to around 50 deaths across Russia, and in 2016 more than 70 people died in Irkutsk after consuming bath oil containing methanol.

Despite tougher regulations introduced in recent years, counterfeit alcohol remains widely available, particularly in poorer regions where rising prices have driven many to seek out cheaper alternatives.

Kuwait crackdown after 23 deaths

The crisis in Russia comes only weeks after a major methanol poisoning outbreak in Kuwait. As reported by the drinks business on 18 August, the Kuwaiti ministry of health confirmed 23 deaths and more than 160 hospitalisations linked to bootleg alcohol. Hospitals in Kuwait City were overwhelmed with patients suffering from nausea, breathing difficulties and sudden vision loss. At least 51 people required emergency dialysis and 31 were placed on ventilators.

The ministry of interior subsequently arrested 67 people and shut down ten clandestine factories. Authorities described a large-scale bootlegging operation led by a Bangladeshi national, with accomplices from South Asia. Migrant workers were among the hardest hit, with the Indian embassy reporting around 40 nationals hospitalised and the Nepali embassy confirming at least ten deaths.

Kuwait enforces a complete ban on alcohol, which officials acknowledged has fuelled demand for unsafe homemade spirits. First deputy prime minister and interior minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah directed the crackdown and pledged zero tolerance for those producing or selling illicit alcohol.

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