An arrest has been made over the champagne spike that led to the death of the restaurant owner
German prosecutors announced on Thursday that they had arrested a suspect in the case of A A 52-year-old man died After accidentally drinking champagne while ecstatic in a restaurant last year.
Other members of the man’s group felt symptoms of poisoning immediately after drinking from the same contaminated three-liter bottle in the Bavarian town of Weiden in February 2022.
Five men and three women, aged between 33 and 52, were taken to hospital, where the 52-year-old died later that night.
Toxicology tests revealed that the champagne contained a “high concentration” of the illegal drug MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy.
Local media reported that after drinking the tainted champagne, some customers were writhing in pain on the restaurant floor and screaming in pain.
The Weiden prosecutor’s office said Thursday that the 35-year-old Polish suspect fled to the Netherlands, where he was arrested in cooperation with Dutch and Polish authorities.
He faces charges including organized drug trafficking as well as negligent homicide and bodily harm.
The suspect, who allegedly works with a criminal gang, “is believed to have been responsible for storing drugs in bottles in the Netherlands and therefore bears responsibility for the bottles ending up with third parties,” the prosecutor’s office said.
“A small sip could be fatal.”
Investigators traced the source of the ecstasy to the Netherlands, where they found several bottles containing similar contamination that had been repeatedly sold to other parties, all of whom were unaware of their contents. One of these bottles ended up in Wyden.
German prosecutors said they were continuing the investigation to identify other potential accomplices.
After the death in Weeden, the German and Dutch authorities Issue a warning For consumers who drink or even touch such bottles, branded Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial, it can be “life-threatening,” he said, adding that there may be other contaminated bottles in circulation. They said that spiked champagne has a reddish-brown color.
The Dutch Food and Consumer Products Safety Authority said: “Even dipping a fingertip into the liquid and tasting it, even without swallowing it, can lead to serious health problems.” “Just a sip could be fatal.”
In 2020, A A woman died After accidentally taking a sip of wine laced with ecstasy in Belgium, prosecutors say.
According to the National Institute on Drug AbuseMDMA is a synthetic drug that became popular in the 1980s. The medication can cause a dangerous rise in body temperature that can be fatal. MDMA can also stress the heart, increase heart rate and blood pressure, and can damage the kidneys, the institute says.
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