- A man in Germany has died after drinking from a spiked bottle of Moet champagne.
- Eight were also poisoned in Germany, four became ill in The Netherlands.
- Authorities do not know how the champagne was spiked and warn touching the liquid could be fatal.
A man has died and 12 became ill in Germany and The Netherlands after drinking a bottle of luxury champagne laced with ecstasy.
Harald Georg Z, 52, died after drinking a glass of the spiked Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial, and eight others were left poisoned at a restaurant in Weiden, Germany, The Times reports.
Drug smugglers are suspected of lacing the bottles with the drugs, The Times added.
Dutch health authorities said four people were hospitalized after sharing a bottle of Moet in The Netherlands, priced at approximately $482.80, according to the NL Times.
The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said that "Touching and/or drinking the contents of the bottles is life-threatening. This has led to seven very serious illnesses and one death in Germany,"
"It is not known how the MDMA ended up in these bottles," the statement continued, adding that all the spiked bottles were bought on an unknown website.
Therefore, the agency is unable to estimate how many bottles may have been tainted and who is at risk.
Police investigations found that "there was no champagne in the affected champagne bottle, but the chemical substance MDMA, which is often also referred to as ecstasy," said the police headquarters in Upper Palatinate on Tuesday, according to German news site Bild.
Police spokeswoman said the liquid "was reddish-brown and quickly darkened."
A spokesman for The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said in a statement to the Daily Mail: "Even dipping your fingertip into the liquid and tasting it can cause serious health problems, even if you don't swallow it.
"People should also not touch, let alone taste, the contents. Taking a small sip can be fatal."
A warning is in place regarding 3-liter bottles of Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial with the serial number LAJ7QAB6780004.
Moet did not immediately respond to Insider's call for comment.