The international fraud league is believed to have had a well-structured operation where red wines were counterfeited and sold on a large scale. By using, among other things, printing houses in Italy, the group managed to recreate labels on French wines – worth up to 170,000 kronor per bottle – and sell the counterfeits worldwide.
In addition to the labels, corks were also specially manufactured. The wines were then delivered to an airport in Italy, from where they were taken abroad for sale.
In total, the league is estimated to have sold wine bottles for more than two million euros, i.e. approximately 22.6 million kronor, according to the EU authority Eurojust.
Through a European collaboration, including French and Italian police, several people have now been arrested as a result of the trade in the mislabeled wine. Among others, a 40-year-old Russian man has been arrested, who is suspected of being the leader of the fraud network.
During raids in France and Italy, the police found cash and luxury goods worth millions, belonging to the league.
