Germany - 1 dead, 8 in hospital after spiked champagne in Bavarian bar, 12 Feb 2022

[dotr]

Spiked Champagne in Bavarian Bar Leaves 1 Dead, 8 Sick | World News | US News

1 dead, 8 in hospital after spiked champagne in Bavarian bar | CP24.com
''BERLIN (AP) -- One man died and eight others were hospitalized in serious condition after drinking spiked Champagne at a bar in Bavaria, German prosecutors said Monday.

The man who died was 52 years old, and the others were between 33 and 52, police told German news agency dpa.

"There were things in it that normally are not in Champagne." senior prosecutor Gerd Schaefer said. "It had a toxic, a poisonous effect."

Spiked Champagne in Bavarian bar leaves 1 dead, 8 sick - WDEF
''Schaefer said toxicological tests showed the poisonous substance “in considerable concentration” in the Champagne was Ecstasy, but said it was not yet clear how the drug got into the bottle.

Police said the incident happened Saturday night in the Bavarian town of Weiden, shortly after a group of people had ordered and shared one bottle of champagne. When police arrived at the bar, they found people lying on the ground with cramps and eight of them had to be hospitalized.

Schaefer said toxicological tests have been completed and the poisonous substance was known, but he would not confirm local media reports that the champagne could have been laced with the drug Ecstasy.''

 

[ChatteringBirds]

What a tragedy. I hope the truth comes to light. Do we think it was most likely contaminated on sight at the restaurant? Does Champagne always come with a tight foil seal? Are the only possibilies during bottling or after removing the seal prior to serving? (During transport not a possibility?)

I am speculating this was sabotage by someone who knew the bottle would likely be shared amongst a group - truly horrific.

I hope the German justice system, provides real justice in this one.

My post is speculation and opinion only.

 

[AliceInPain]

sbm

(During transport not a possibility?)

No, once it's opened, it's opened.
My guess is it was done by a bartender, usually they're the only ones handling the bottle at the restaurant/ bar. Or there's a dodgy worker at the producers.
Hope they are found, it's awful when people just want to enjoy themselves and someone decides to ruin it.

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
One dead and several hospitalised including TV dating contestant after Champagne spiked with ecstasy | Daily Mail Online
''One man has died and eight have been hospitalised after a three-litre bottle of Moët & Chandon Champagne was spiked with ecstasy at a restaurant in Germany.

The man, named locally as Harald Georg Z, had met with eight friends at the La Vita restaurant in Weiden, Germany when the group ordered a £430 bottle of Champagne.

One of those present had appeared as a contestant on the TV dating show Take Me Out and the group had decided to celebrate.

However, shortly after the bottle was 'opened at the table', all the guests - who are between age 33 and 52 - were experiencing extreme symptoms of poisoning by having 'seizures and foaming at the mouth'.''

''Project manager Georg Z. took 'a large sip of the champagne' and 'collapsed whilst foaming at the mouth', according to witness statements seen by German news website Bild.''

''Police reports have suggested that the three-litre bottle of Champagne contained 1,000 times the 'normal' dose of ecstasy and was believed to be drugged with a lethal amount of MDMA''
''A restaurant manager reportedly told a local newspaper: 'The bottle was opened and uncorked in front of the guests at the table. This was also filmed'.''

 

[AliceInPain]

sbm

''A restaurant manager reportedly told a local newspaper: 'The bottle was opened and uncorked in front of the guests at the table. This was also filmed'.''

I guess the police know where they should be looking then.
This is really scary, not knowing if your unopened food or beverage has been tampered with by some lunatic.

 

[AliceInPain]

The most likely theory from the investigators' point of view: Drug smugglers or dealers had stored the drug in the bottle in order to perhaps filter it out again later.

(crazy link, sorry, it's the Bild article, cached version and translated)

Weiden: Aus der Champagner-Flasche perlte der Tod – Harald Georg Z. tot

 

[LoveyG]

Could a needle possibly penetrate a champagne cork?

 

[AliceInPain]

Could a needle possibly penetrate a champagne cork?

I doubt it. Well penetrate yes, but removing it?
I really don't know, but there is so much pressure. And any good bar worker would have seen the foil had been tampered with. It's just baffling and scary.

 

[dotr]

Various threads started concerning drink tampering, fwiw..
Canada - Drink tampering is in the spotlight, 2020 (websleuths.com)

UK - Reports of ‘needle spiking’ in Britain drive young women, students to boycott bars, Oct. 2021 (websleuths.com)

Canada - Vancouver bars to dump unattended drinks warning of predatory men. (websleuths.com)

 

[ChatteringBirds]

February 28, 2022 article from "Stern":
Flüssiges Ecstasy statt Champagner in der Flasche – Behörden warnen: "Ein Schluck kann tödlich sein"

(Portions of article translated by Google translate):

...There could be more such bottles with MDMA, also known as ecstasy, in circulation....

The warning refers explicitly to champagne from the "Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial" brand in a 3-liter format with the product number LAJ7QAB6780004...

...Both in Germany and in the Netherlands, a bottle in this format was discovered that contained the drug instead of champagne...

...Both previously known bottles were therefore bought via an as yet unidentified website...

...The company announced on Friday that it was not "a quality problem, but a criminal case". There have long been suspicions that it could be drug smuggling...

 

[dotr]

Feb 25 2022
Four people in NL poisoned with spiked Moët & Chandon champagne - DutchNews.nl
''Dutch food safety body NVWA has issued a warning about three-litre bottles of Moët & Chandon Ice Imperial champagne which may be spiked with the hard drug MDMA following the death of one man and the hospitalisation of at least ten others. Four people have been taken ill in the Netherlands after drinking the spiked champagne, and six were hospitalised in Germany, where one man also died, the NVWA said. The NVWA said it did not know how the drug ended up in the champagne but said both in Germany and the Netherlands the bottles had been purchased via an ‘as yet unknown website’. This makes it difficult to determine if other Moët & Chandon types of champagne have also been affected, the RIVM said.''

 

[azure]

February 28, 2022 article from "Stern":
Flüssiges Ecstasy statt Champagner in der Flasche – Behörden warnen: "Ein Schluck kann tödlich sein"

(Portions of article translated by Google translate):

...There could be more such bottles with MDMA, also known as ecstasy, in circulation....

The warning refers explicitly to champagne from the "Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial" brand in a 3-liter format with the product number LAJ7QAB6780004...

...Both in Germany and in the Netherlands, a bottle in this format was discovered that contained the drug instead of champagne...

...Both previously known bottles were therefore bought via an as yet unidentified website...

...The company announced on Friday that it was not "a quality problem, but a criminal case". There have long been suspicions that it could be drug smuggling...

Of course, drug smuggling, that's really the only reasonable explanation. I wonder if we'll ever know how the bottles made it into bars for customer purchase.