Sochi Women Arrested After Bootleg Liquor Kills 10

Two women have been placed in pre-trial detention over accusations they sold bootleg liquor that led to at least 10 deaths, authorities in the southern Krasnodar region said Thursday.

Investigators said the two women, ages 30 and 71, sold homemade Georgian brandy, known as chacha, at a market south of the resort city of Sochi. The source of the toxic alcohol has not yet been identified, according to the regional court system’s press service.

The Adlersky District Court ordered both women to be held in pre-trial detention until Oct. 4. They were charged with unlawful manufacture, distribution or sale of unsafe goods or services resulting in multiple deaths, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Footage posted by the court’s press service showed the women appearing separately before a judge.

Authorities have not released their names, but the pro-Kremlin Telegram news channel Shot identified them as a woman named Olesya and her retired grandmother Eteri. Shot also claimed both women had previously been convicted of illicit alcohol sales in 2016.

The Moscow Times could not independently verify that report.