Market research
Authorities in Italy have taken down a network of wine counterfeiters selling fake premium Italian wines online.
Police in the Florence region were supported by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) in the operation, which targeted the refilling of empty bottles of higher-end Italian wines with low-quality beverage marketed as genuine ones "on offer". The bottles were sealed using counterfeit capsules of a different or similar colour to the original.
Packaging films and false masking guarantee seals were also applied.
"Once contact with a buyer was established, via a big e-commerce platform, the counterfeiters expanded even further their promotional offers, setting prices way below the ones seen usually on the market," said Europol. "A magnum format (1.5 litres) of some of the counterfeit wines typically exceeds EUR1,000 (US$) per bottle."
Law enforcement officers carried out raids in eight Italian provinces - Avellino, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Brescia, Como, Foggia, Pisa, Prato and Rome.
The wines were sold in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US, often ending in the glasses of unsuspecting wine bar and catering service customers, Europol added.
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Sectors: Wine
