After the fall of a champagne bottle containing extremely high levels of ecstasy in a restaurant in Weiden in der Oberpfalz, further poisoned bottles have surfaced. As a spokesman for the public prosecutor said, several champagne bottles were seized nationwide, which were also filled with the liquid drug. In this case, the case will be determined together with customs throughout Europe.
A year ago, on the night of February 13, 2022, eight people in Weiden drank together from a champagne bottle, which not only contained the noble drink, but also an extremely high amount of the liquid ecstasy drug MDMA. One man died, seven guests were poisoned. A few days later there was a similar incident in the Netherlands, in which four people were poisoned.
The host in Weiden, where the group of friends drank from the bottle, had ordered the champagne bottle on the Internet and is not considered a suspect, as the spokesman for the authorities emphasized again. “It was a tragic coincidence.” It could have hit another restaurant or private individuals. For tactical reasons, the spokesman did not want to reveal details of the investigation.
The other bottles appeared because people had contacted the authorities with information about suspicious bottles. When a man opened a bottle, for example, he noticed that the contents did not bubble up as usual. It cannot be ruled out that other bottles filled with MDMA are in circulation, said the prosecutor.
The Federal Office for Consumer Protection had already warned against consuming bottles from two specific batches last year. Specifically, it is about three-liter bottles of Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial with the lot code LAJ7QAB6780004 and LAK5SAA6490005, which can be found on the label on the back of the bottle. If the contents of the bottle – unlike champagne – do not bubble and have a reddish-brown color and smell of aniseed, they should not be drunk.
“Don’t try anything,” warned the agency. Even tasting it without swallowing it could lead to serious health problems. “Taking a small sip can be fatal,” the warning said.