Bernama reported Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor as saying the operation, code-named “Ops Methanol”, was carried out at retail and convenience stores in Shah Alam, Gombak, Sungai Buloh and Kajang.

The 10 arrested individuals comprised nine men and a woman who are the operators and workers of the stores, he said in a statement here today.

“During the raids, 1,021 bottles of liquor and 1,695 cans of various brands of beer were seized. All suspects have been remanded for investigation under Section 135 (1) (d) of the Customs Act 1967,” he added.

Mazlan said that as of 8am today, the death toll due to toxic alcohol poisoning in Selangor alone stood at 22.

Another 22 victims were still receiving treatment, while 14 others had been discharged from the hospital, he added.

Meanwhile, the health ministry, in a statement, said another eight people had died of methanol poisoning, bringing the total number of deaths to 29.

Six deaths were in Kuala Lumpur and two from Selangor, said Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

So far, 18 have died in Selangor, nine in Kuala Lumpur and two in Perak, he said.