The Carabinieri announced today that on the morning of September 26, in the provinces of Turin, Monza, Cuneo, Rome and Bologna, the NAS of Turin, coordinated by the local Public Prosecutor's Office and assisted in the executive phase by the military of the CC Command. Health Protection Group of Milan and the A1ma competent for the territory, within the scope of several European criminal investigation orders issued by the French judiciary and executed by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Turin and the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Milan, executed 6 European arrest warrants and 16 searches against the members of a transnational criminal organization dedicated to the counterfeiting and marketing of bottles of very high quality wine produced by well-known French wineries.

The crimes being prosecuted are: articles 416 and 474 of the Criminal Code (criminal association aimed at introducing and selling in the State products with false markings). The measures of the Italian and French AG arise from a complex judicial police activity carried out within the scope of numerous European investigation orders, issued by the French Judiciary and executed, after transmission to the Italian Prosecutors, by the French Police Force and by the soldiers of the Anti-Adulteration and Health Unit of the Piedmontese capital, with the support of Europol operators.

The investigation allowed to identify and dismantle a criminal association dedicated to the counterfeiting of wine of great economic value, even 15,000 euros per bottle that were sold to unsuspecting traders at market price. In this investigative context, in fact, a subject of Russian nationality, had created a well-structured criminal organization, also availing himself of the collaboration of some owners of printing houses operating in the Italian territory, to whom he periodically commissioned the creation of counterfeit labels and corks, to be subsequently affixed to the bottles of wine, to be marketed in the lucrative market of fine wine. Often the labels were delivered by the accomplices also at Malpensa airport, to the aforementioned subject of Russian nationality who took them abroad to use them in other world markets.

During the operations, counterfeit labels and bottles of wine, computer and telephone devices of the suspects, money and other valuables, as well as documentation considered extremely useful for the investigations, were seized.