Brit girl left BLIND on dream Zante holiday thanks to ‘deadly’ cheap booze smuggled onto the island by mafia gangs

LETHAL cheap booze made by criminal gangs are putting many young Brits on holiday at risk, an investigation has revealed.

Hannah Powell, of North Ormesby, Teesside, was left blind after drinking cocktails thought to contain “highly toxic methanol” while partying in resort of Laganas on the Greek island of Zante.

The 20-year-old was rushed to hospital after she collapsed with kidney failure and underwent tests and treatement.

She was airlifted back to Britain earlier this week and is understood to be making progress at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Greek press reported Hannah is believed to have consumed drinks laced with cheap alcohol.

But according to the , “booze price war fuelled by Albanian crime gangs” is to blame for the overwhelming number of sick revellers from alcohol poisoning.

Their probe reveals how gangs import cheap, fake bottles of spirits – often known as “Bulgarian rakı” – is smuggled from Bulgaria across Europe.

The alcohol is served from legitimate-looking bottles which appear completely normal to holidaymakers.

But it contains highly toxic industrial substance used in anti-freeze, nail-polish remover and some fuels.

An unnamed local told the paper: “Getting control of the bars and clubs here is big business.

“And Albanian gangsters now run the show. The key is being able to serve drinks at the cheapest possible price.

“Where a cocktail used to cost six euros, now we are told to sell them for two euros.

“Drinks are cheaper because money is saved by importing spirits here from Bulgaria.

“They are so cheap and they can make huge profits selling them on.

“The gangs have associates in Bulgaria who make the booze in secret factories hidden in houses and backyards then sell them on for tourists here to drink.

“It’s very dangerous because they are not professionals.

“They do not check the methanol content and the process can go badly wrong. It puts lives at extreme risk.”

Rogue bar owners using cheap fake spirits to cut costs has been a reported problem across the southern Mediterranean.

Earlier this year, Interpol and Europol – the law enforcement agency of the EU – teamed up to conduct mass-scale seizures of fake food and drink carried out in Greece.

Raids across the country closed down three factories producing illegal alcohol and seized more than 7,400 bottles of fake booze.

A number of arrests were also made during the operation.

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