Arrests made in Galicia in major wine fraud involving at least 2m bottles of fake Spanish wine
Four people in Galicia in Spain have been arrested in connection with a major wine fraud operation, involving the production of at least two million bottles of fake Spanish wine.
"Four men have been arrested in Ourense in Galicia and eleven industrial sites and wineries have been searched in Leon in the region of Castilla and Leon and in Lugo, Pontevedra and Ourense in Galicia," a spokesman for the Guardia civil headquarters in Leon, told Meininger's.
"Raids were carried-out on both wineries and warehouses," the spokesman said. "Wines were exported internationally and sold in Spain. The wines lacked the characteristics mentioned on the label and the fake labels were used as a way of selling the wine at higher price," he added.
Spain's Guardia Civil police force announced it had uncovered a criminal organisation that bottled, sold and exported wine using fake PDO Bierzo and PGI Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla labels.
Police also seized 335,000 Euros ($374,095) in cash. The spokesman and a source at the DO Bierzo wine board told Meininger's that wine company Compañía Europea Exportadora de Vinos registered in Coles, near Ourense, in Galicia was implicated in the operation. It is believed that a director of the company, which describes itself as a seller, exporter and winery, selling more than 15m litres a year, was among those who were arrested. The company was unavailable for comment.
The police were tipped off by the DO Bierzo wine board which reported the suspected fraudulent wine to the authotiries after it detected “irregularities” on wine bottle labels, including false and duplicate numbers. How much of the wine remains in the international market remains unclear, though reports in the Spanish press said police had already withdrawn 8,000 bottles of fake wine from circulation in Spain.