05 September 2023 , 19:47
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Bars in the Greek party resort of Kavos have been scouring their dancefloors for discarded drinks and reselling them as shots for tourists.
Greek tax officials stormed a number of bars in the Corfu town last week where they found a well-established routine of bartenders flogging booze that had already been purchased by other customers. They also found that seven bars had been using alcohol that didn't have identification numbers on the packaging, suggesting the bottles were illegal or smuggled.
A massive 26 establishments also failed to issue as many as 40,578 receipts, totalling £228,793. In response to the fragrant violations of local regulations, Greece's Independent Public Revenue Authority (AADE) and customs officials shuttered 28 bars for two days. A number of fines have also been issued, local media reports.
The officials sent up to eight samples to the General Chemical State Laboratory where they're currently undergoing tests. Local media say that similar checks are being carried out at other party resorts in Greece. The major operation comes just days after a British policewoman was feared to have been plied with methanol-laced booze before falling to her death in Corfu, the same island.
Hannah Emily Byrne was tragically found dead on the side of a main road by a passerby on the first day of her holiday on Sunday. The 22-year-old, who served for Surrey Police, had opted to stay out while her colleague returned to their hotel.
'I stopped drinking booze on dates and it made life much more exciting'
A postmortem confirmed that she died of a traumatic head injury, but authorities are now investigating whether her drink had been contaminated. In the meantime, officers have been instructed to raid bars "at a minute's notice" amid mounting concerns over the extent of adulterated alcohol being served on the island in recent months.
Chief Superintendent Chris Colley, Divisional Commander for East Surrey, said: “Hannah’s death has been a shock for everyone who knew her. She was a bright, enthusiastic and respected officer just at the start of her career in policing and she will be sadly missed. "
The coroner said a postmortem yesterday confirmed Hannah had fallen from a height of several metres. Yannis Aivatidis explained: "Findings included fractures to her thorax, stomach and a small rupture of the spleen. But it was a traumatic head injury that killed her."