The Police in Indonesia have arrested at least eight persons suspected to have sold a home-distilled liquor that has killed 82 people in two provinces in the past week.

According to Indonesia’s National Police, the deaths occurred in several communities in the provinces of Jakarta and West Java.

The police said they have arrested some of the suspects in a series of raids in Bandung, Jakarta and Sukabumi over the last three days.

Indra Jafar, the South Jakarta Police Chief told the country’s media that laboratory results revealed that the home-made drink consumed by the victims contained heavy amounts of methanol and ethanol.

“Ethanol substances only have an intoxicating effect, but methanol can be deadly,” Jafar said adding that the latter could cause organ damage when consumed in high quantities.

In June 2009, 25 people including a British man died after drinking home-made liquor laced with methanol on the Indonesian resort island of Bali and Lombok.