Nine people poisoned from meat after woman marinated it with ‘bonzai’ drug instead of thyme

ISTANBUL

Eight people were poisoned and one was killed after eating meat cooked with “bonzai,” a cheap synthetic drug, in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district on March 21, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

A woman, identified only as Aysel K., poisoned her guests after she served meat marinated with the bonzai drug, which she initially thought was thyme. She found the bonzai in a plastic bag while she was out in her garden picking ingredients for her barbecue. She assumed the bonzai was thyme after smelling it. She then sauced the meat with the fatal drug before grilling it. 

All the guests, except one, identified as Yeliz D., the daughter-in-law of Aysel K., ate the meat. 

After a short time, Yeliz D.’s husband said he felt ill and they went out for fresh air. When they returned, they noticed that everybody in the room was acting strangely. She called an ambulance immediately and they were taken to hospital for medical examinations. Bayram A., who was the brother-in-law of Aysel K., died from poisoning due to the drugs.

After treatment, Aysel K. said in her testimony that she threw away all the bonzai, which she put in a jar, after finding out that it poisoned her guests.

“I noticed that the thing that I thought was thyme caused this situation when everybody started fainting. I threw the jar from the kitchen window. But I lost myself after that. I do not know who put that plastic bag in my garden,” she added.

Police launched an investigation into the incident to detect drug users, as witnesses reported that a number of people were using the drug in the neighborhood. 

The spread of the synthetic drug has killed many young people in recent years, with official figures indicating the usage had increased every year.