Moscow, Jun 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti): Police in Russia's Siberia region have seized 30,000 bottles of counterfeit vodka estimated at three million rubles ($90,000), the interior ministry said.

The bottles were seized when a truck was stopped by police in Chita, capital of Zabaikalsky territory in eastern Siberia.

The owner of the fake vodka was arrested in March while trying to bribe police to release bottles of the drink seized in a raid.

The half-litre bottles, labelled Pchenichnaya, bore fake tax stamps. Each bottle cost dealers around 50 rubles ($1.5) and was intended to be sold at double the price on the retail market.

Counterfeit alcohol has been a problem in Russia for decades.

It still accounts for between 23 and 37 percent of total market sales, according to statistics from the alcohol market watchdog and the federal statistics service.

In 2011, police seized a total of 305,000 litres of bootleg alcohol.

According to official statistics, around 12,000 people died in Russia last year after drinking counterfeit alcohol. That figure has decreased since 2005, when it stood at 45,000.