The Civil Guard dismantles an organization dedicated to the bottling and sale of wine in a massive and fraudulent way


The Civil Guard dismantles an organization dedicated to the bottling and sale of wine in a massive and fraudulent way

In the operation has been arrested 4 people and investigated another 6 and have made 11 records in different buildings and homes located in the provinces of León, Ourense, Lugo and Pontevedra

It is estimated the falsification of the back labels of at least 2,000,000 million bottles to make them pass through wines with the designation of origin of Bierzo (PDO), and Protected Geographical Indication Wine of the Land of Castilla y León (IGP)

The Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of the Civil Guard, in the framework of the operation "BACO2019", has proceeded to the arrest of 4 people and the investigation of another 6 belonging to a criminal organization dedicated to the bottling and sale of It came in a massive and fraudulent way, consisting in the placing on the national and international market of around 2,000,000 million bottles to make them pass through the Bierzo Designation of Origin wine (León) and the Protected Geographical Indication of Tierra de Tierra de Castilla y León.

The arrested / investigated are attributed the commission of the alleged crimes of continued fraud, fraud, forgery, illegitimate use of quality figures and money laundering. In the operation, a total of 11 records were made in different buildings and homes located in the provinces of León, Ourense, Lugo and Pontevedra.
The operation began in December 2018, when the Bierzo Denomination of Origin Regulatory Board denounced irregularities detected in several wine back labels that were on the market before the Civil Guard. From that moment on, the agents carried out numerous controls of the wine prepared for sale in commercial establishments, detecting irregularities in several commercial brands, which led to the precautionary immobilization of nearly 8,000 bottles of wine in different provinces.
Continuing with the investigations, the agents detected several companies related to the wine sector that in an organized way bottled and put on the market wine fraudulently and illegitimately under the figures of quality PDO Bierzo and IGP Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León, using counterfeit labels and falsified bottlers for this, attributing to the wine characteristics that it lacked and with a price premium when putting it on the market.
For this reason, the operation was proceeded with, making a total of 11 entries and records in which numerous evidences were obtained of the activity that was being developed and in which a lot of documentation was intervened, several hundred thousand of back labels falsified, effects and a total of 335,000 euros. Likewise, all the affected wine that has been placed on the market has been intervened.
This operation has been developed and directed by the Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 4 of Ponferrada and Prosecutor's Office of the Ponferrada area, the proceedings being instructed by the Nature Protection Team (SEPRONA) of the Command of the Civil Guard of León , in collaboration with the SEPRONA and the Judicial Police Organic Unit of the Commanders of the Civil Guard of Ourense, Lugo and Pontevedra, as well as personnel of the DO Bierzo, Agricultural Technology Institute of the Junta de Castilla y León and fraud defense inspectors and Food Quality of the Regional Ministry of Rural Environment of the Xunta de Galicia in Ourense.
The operation continues open so new arrests are not ruled out.

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