Interpol-Europol operation leads to seizure of 2,500t of fake food and drink

A joint operation between Interpol and Europol has seen the agencies seize thousands of tonnes of fake and sub-standard food and drink in 47 countries worldwide.

The operation named Operation Opson IV was conducted during December 2014 and January 2015 and saw seizure of more than 2,500t of fake and illicit food, including mozzarella, strawberries, eggs, cooking oil and dried fruit.

Checks at shops, markets, airports, seaports and industrial estates carried out by police and customs with the help of national food regulatory bodies and partners from the private sector led to the exposure of the food racket.

Head of Interpol’s trafficking in illicit goods and counterfeiting unit Michael Ellis said: "Fake and sub-standard food and drink pose a real threat to health and safety. People are at serious risk and in some cases dying because of the greed of criminals whose sole concern is to make money.

"Through this operation, thousands of tonnes of potentially hazardous food and drink have been taken out of circulation."

Almost 31t of seafood being sold as fresh was actually mixed with a chemical substance containing citric acid, phosphate and hydrogen peroxide to make it appear fresh was seized by Italian officials.

An estimated 275,000l of drinks was seized, with counterfeit alcohol being one of the most common products.

Many other such rackets were exposed in the course of the operation.

Head of Europol’s Focal Point Copy who coordinated the activities in Europe Chris Vansteenkiste said: "This year again, the results from Opson clearly reflect the threat that food fraud represents, as it affects all types of products and all regions of the world. Cooperation at national and international level is indispensable to disrupt the criminal gangs involved in this business."

Countries that took part in the operation were Austria, Belgium, Benin, Belarus, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burundi, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay, the UK, US and Vietnam.

With the main aim of the operation being to identify and disrupt the organised crime networks behind the trafficking in fake goods, Operation Opson IV resulted in a number of arrests across the globe and investigations are continuing.

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Image: Around 10kg of caviar was discovered by French customs in passenger luggage during targeted checks at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Photo: courtesy of Interpol.