Indonesia steamrolls over bootleg alcohol as death toll from illegal spirits nears 100
The world’s most populous Muslim majority country banned the sale of alcohol in most convenience stores and small shops outside holiday hotspot Bali in 2015
Thousands of bottles of booze were destroyed by Indonesian police on Friday in a dramatic show of force against bootleg alcohol that is blamed for killing close to 100 people in recent weeks.
Authorities in Tangerang, on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, drove a yellow steamroller over a carpet of some 6,000 bottles, while others raided vendors in a bid to stop the worst string of home-brew deaths in years.
The world’s most populous Muslim majority country banned the sale of alcohol in most convenience stores and small shops outside holiday hotspot Bali in 2015, although it is still widely available in supermarkets, bars and hotels.
High taxes make alcohol expensive, however, so low-paid workers often turn to cheap and sometimes deadly home-made booze instead.
As of Friday, authorities said at least 97 people have died nationwide since late March from drinking illegal spirits.