Police in Laos have reportedly arrested the owner of a factory which reportedly supplied the poisoned alcohol that claimed the lives of six backpackers, including a British lawyer.
Simone White, 28, died while on holiday with two friends after they accepted free vodka shots from Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination.
Two Australian teenagers, Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both aged 19, were also killed alongside two Danish women and an American man, after they consumed the drinks which were laced with the deadly substance methanol.
A manufacturing plant located outside the capital city Vientiane, understood to have been supplying the local Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey, has now been closed and its owner arrested, according to the Daily Mail.
The sale of the spirits has now been banned in the communist country, while the factory has been shut as an investigation continues.
Twelve people have now been arrested by the authorities so far, including eight staff members at the hostel. No charges have been made, while the manager of the hostel has denied any wrongdoing.
Recalling the “horrendous” 16-hour journey to Laos after learning her daughter was critically ill, Simone’s mother Sue White said: “I knew when I had that phone call – I don’t know what it was, call it a mother’s intuition – but I knew that she was going to die.”
After consuming the shots and enjoying a night out with her friends, her daughter had not initially suspected anything wrong when she woke up with a headache.
However, their conditions worsened throughout the day on 13 November, and they decided to take themselves to hospital. On Thursday, 14 November, Mrs White received a message from her daughter’s friend to say they were unwell with suspected acidosis, and that “Simone is the worst affected out of all of us but she’s not doing too badly”.
Sadly, her condition worsened and she required two blood transfusions and brain surgery, at which point Mrs White booked a flight from Heathrow to the south-east Asian country.
Ms White said she arrived at the hospital just as Simone was being taken in for the operation.
“It was horrendous. Absolutely horrendous.
“She had such beautiful long blonde hair, which had all been shaved off for the operation. It was the worst experience of my life. There are no words, really.”
She has now called on young backpackers to be cautious when accepting drinks abroad, warning: “Please be careful when it comes to drinks.”
“Simone was a university-educated, highly intelligent person,” she said.
“If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody.”