Police in Bogra seized over 1,500 litres of rectified spirit and equipment for making homeopathy medicine in Nataipara area of the town on Thursday.
Sadar police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Humayun Kabir said a team of police conducted a drive in the area around 11am and seized the liquor.
Owners and employees of four homeopathic pharmacies in Bogra have been arrested for allegedly selling toxic liquor and operations are underway to arrest all others involved, said the police official.
The arrestees are Nurunnabi Sheikh, owner of Parul Homoeo Hall in Fulbari, Bogra, MA Khaleq, owner of Moon Homoeo Hall in Galapatti area, Shahidul Islam, owner of Karatoya Homoeo Hall in Chelopara and Md Jewel, employee of Hasan Homoeo Hall in the same area.
At least 16 people have died since Jan 31 in northern Bangladesh's commercial hub of Bogra after consuming toxic liquor, according to officials and media reports. They include eight people who died between Sunday and Tuesday.
Police could recover only 10 bodies for autopsy while the other bodies were buried without informing the law enforcers, said Humayun Kabir.
News of deaths came in a span of more than a week from Dhaka and elsewhere from liquor poisoning in Bangladesh. Consequently, law enforcers have cracked down on a factory in Dhaka for adulterating alcohol recently.
Police said due to a shortage of availability of foreign liquor, people are resorting to local vendors who sell such beverages.
In a recent incident, at least three employees of a top public relations and advertising company allegedly died from alcohol poisoning in Dhaka hospitals after returning from a retreat at a Gazipur resort.
After multiple deaths in the span of a week from liquor poisoning in Bangladesh, police have started cracking down on factories manufacturing pure ethanol-laced alcohol.
As part of the crackdown, law enforcers conducted a raid in Bhatara of Dhaka on Monday night and busted an illegal factory.
They also apprehended six people, including the owner of the factory, during the raid at Khilbarir Tek.
