Police in the Dominican Republic suspect counterfeit alcohol as the cause of the deaths of at least seven Americans in the Dominican Republic in the last year.
Also being investigated: Who supplied the alcohol the victims drank before they died – in every case, they had bought alcohol from a mini-fridge in their hotel room – and whether the drinks had any toxic chemicals in them.
The FBI is cooperating and will take blood samples back to its Quantico, Va., lab.
The New York Post, which first reported the investigation into alcohol, noted that a Post reporter at one of the resorts noted the vodka in the room had a strange, potent smell resembling pure alcohol.
Lawrence Kobilinsky, a forensic science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, told the Post the symptoms among some of the dead — including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea — were consistent with poisoning from methanol or pesticides.
Methanol is a type of alcohol not safe for humans. It is regularly used as antifreeze.
“Adulterated alcohol is usually methanol added to alcohol or just plain methanol, which is very, very toxic,” Kobilinsky told the Post.
About 6.5 million tourists visited the Dominican Republic last year, more than any other Caribbean nation, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization. The United States accounted for 2.2 million of those tourists — more than any other country in the region.