President Luis Abinader asked the courts to crack down on the clandestine producers and sellers of alcoholic beverages, who have killed more than 20 people in recent weeks.
The president said there is a lot of recidivism from people who have been subjected to return to practice after a trial in court.
“We think they should be more strict,” Abinader emphasizes.
The president spoke on the subject in response to a question from journalists reporting to the National Palace about his concerns about the deaths left behind by the consumption of clergy in the country every year.
“It is a complaint from the police and military organizations, that the people who are being subdued, that justice is also acting because there is a lot of recidivism in these cases,” said the governor.
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Víctor Bisonó, reported that they had seized more than 8,000 bottles of clerics yesterday in Cabral, Barahona.
He added that the operation took place at 8:30 a.m. and they seized 23 55-gallon tanks.
“There is active monitoring of where this crime is manufactured in order to follow up and bring it to justice. This is done with the support of the Directorate-General of Customs, Directorate-General of Internal Taxation and Health, ”he added.
Dead and affected
There have been 21 deaths in recent days as a result of the intake of adulterated alcoholic beverages and more than 80 cases of affected people in the country, the Ministry of Health revealed yesterday, which is maintaining an epidemiological warning in this regard.
The data was provided yesterday by the Director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ronal Skewes, along with other industry authorities, have called on the population to refrain from drinking illegally produced alcoholic beverages.
They emphasized that methanol poisoning cases continue to increase and that deaths have been recorded in several parts of the country, including the National District, the municipalities of Santo Domingo East and West Santo Domingo, and in the provinces of Monseñor Nouel, Santiago and Puerto Plata.
Dead and affected
The methanol poisoning outbreak started over the Easter holidays. 53% of those affected correspond to men and 33 percent are between 20 and 29 years old.
Health authorities stressed that two possible sources have so far been identified, one through counterfeit clerics and the other through a prepared drink, a type of frozen cocktail.
KNOWING MORE
Prosecution is investigating
Yesterday, the Special Prosecutor for Crimes and Crimes Against Health (Pedecsa) reported that it, along with other government agencies across the country, is prosecuting manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit or illegally manufactured alcoholic beverages. Rafael Brito Peña, department head, reported that as a result of the recent deaths, they began investigating the origin of the drink.