The owner of the bar known as “Ministry”, José Rodrigues, who has been in front of the bar in the Jardins region for 22 years, denied that he sold falsified drink after the establishment was banned.
He said he acquired part of the stock of a known street salesman without an invoice, but said he did not believe the product was tampered with.
“I would never buy a fake business. In my commerce it never came in. I was sad because the report came out today saying that it had methanol. Even we have no knowledge about it,” he said.
According to him, the victim pointed by the police as having consumed vodka at the scene was a known client in the region. “The frequency here is all familiar, people from the neighborhood. He was from the neighborhood,” he said.
Rodrigues also stated that he regularly bought drinks from known distributors, such as Coca-Cola and Heineken, and that only vodka came from the informal seller. “Hot drink is difficult to buy. We buy directly with these guys who sell on the street,” he added.
The information that the bar was banned was confirmed by the State Department of Health to CNN. The action was attended by the Civil Police and Sanitary Surveillance.
Sanitary surveillance said the bar can respond to administrative proceedings and suffer penalties ranging from fine to ban.
The Civil Police are investigating whether the drinks marketed on site are related to suspected deaths in São Paulo.
