Greek bars are collecting unbalanced drinks and selling them back to tourists, officials warn
Several bars in a popular Greek party town have been closed for collecting unused drinks and selling them to other tourists. according to local reports.
Bars in Kavos on the Greek island of Corfu were recently raided by the independent tax agency AADE, whose agents suspected the establishments of tax evasion and the sale of contraband or tampered with alcohol.
The operation was conducted by AADE tax and customs inspectors and local police officers from Wednesday 30 August to Friday 1 September.
Authorities visited the popular party district to verify that the establishments had all their passes officially issued and registered, and that the alcohol was being served cleanly and legally.
They found that 26 catering companies had failed to issue at least 40,578 receipts worth $286,782.
Of even greater concern to tourists, however, was that agents spotted seven catering establishments serving drinks without a batch number tag, likely indicating the drinks were smuggled/illegal and possibly counterfeit.
Eight samples were taken from these bars and sent to the country’s State General Chemistry for testing.
Local outlets explained that it is typical of these bars for bartenders to collect unfinished drinks in canisters and store them in kegs to be re-served as shots to other customers.
These shops were closed for 48 hours and were fined.
Kavos is a popular party destination for tourists and is informally considered a “no-go zone” – meaning no checks have been carried out for many years, the state news agency claimed.
This comes as local authorities have opened an investigation into the death of a young tourist who died after being served what was believed to be tainted alcohol in the area.
Hannah Byrne, a 22-year-old British police officer, was found dead in the street in Kavos early Friday morning.
Authorities believe she died after a fall and a head injury, but Corfu’s chief medical officer, Yannis Aivatidis, said she died said The Sun that he smelled alcohol on her breath and asked how she died “just hours” after arriving in the area.
“The answer lies in the toxicology tests that are done,” he said.
