Consumption of counterfeit alcoholic drinks has led to 290 cases of poisoning in four provinces of Iran.

Pir-Hossein Koolivand, the head of Iran’s emergency services told ISNA that according to the latest data, so far 290 people have arrived in the emergency rooms in 4 provinces due to alcohol poisoning, among them 24 have passed away and 3 are brain dead.

In Iran, possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages is illegal (except for some religious minorities) and people who violate the law will receive lashings or prison sentences. According to Islamic Criminal Law, if a person is punished twice and drinks alcohol again, he will be executed.

He added that “out of the 290 people who suffered alcohol poisoning, 217 were hospitalized, 15 of which are in intensive care and 46 have been released.”

According to Koolivand, so far 16 have lost their lives in Hormozgan province, 4 in Alborz, and 4 in Northern Khorasan, and 3 have become brain dead in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.

Fatemeh Norouzian, Chair of Public and International Relations in the Medical University of Hamedan told ISNA that in Hormozgan province, “90 of these people have been put on dialysis and others are in line.” She said the patients are between 17 to 50 years old.

This is not the first time that counterfeit alcoholic drinks have caused death in Iran. According to the reports, in 2013 and 2014, counterfeit alcoholic drinks took the lives of nearly 60 people in Iran and poisoned over 300.

The Bandar Abbas chief of police announced that three individuals have been arrested in connection to the counterfeit liquor. According to him “the leader of the gang was leading the distribution of liquors from inside the prison.”

There is no official data on the amount of alcohol being consumed in Iran, however, a few years ago, deputy minister of health reported 420 million liters of alcoholic beverages being consumed annually. The number was later denied by the Ministry of Health.