Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor said they were working with the health ministry and the Customs Department to inspect premises allegedly selling the liquor and ascertain the authenticity of the labels on the bottles.

“We have to ensure whether the labels are authentic or fake. Most of these liquor bottles have no customs label. We are also investigating who the supplier is and whether the liquor came from the same source. So far, we have no lead on this.

“The investigation will certainly fall under Section 304 (b) of the Penal Code because the perpetrator’s action has claimed many lives,” he said in a press conference after the monthly assembly at the state contingent headquarters here today.

Mazlan said so far, police had detained 15 traders and workers comprising eight Malaysians and seven foreigners aged between 20 and 30, in 17 raids in Shah Alam, Gombak, Sungai Buloh, Kajang and southern Klang.

He said 1,480 bottles of liquor and 1,670 cans of various brands of beer were seized in the raids.

“The death toll remains at 24 in Selangor. Seventeen more are undergoing treatment while 17 others have been discharged from hospitals.

“We have yet to receive the official post-mortem reports from the hospitals and the Chemistry Department,” he said.

Since Sept 17, toxic alcohol poisoning has claimed more than 30 lives around the Klang Valley, Perak and Negeri Sembilan.