Over 2,000 tons of fake Italian
extra-virgin olive oil on Wednesday were seized in a nationwide
operation coordinated by prosecutors in the southern Italian
city of Trani and carried out by anti-fraud inspectors from the
agriculture ministry and finance police.
The operation - code-named 'Mamma mia' - took place in the
southern regions of Puglia and Calabria and the central Umbria
region where investigators said they discovered a network of oil
producers that sold 2,000 tons of Greek and Spanish oil in 2014
and 2015 as 100% Italian oil.
The oil seized on Wednesday in 16 different police
operations is worth over 13 million euros and was about to go on
the market in Italy and abroad.
Eight people are under investigation on charges of food and
tax fraud in connection with false invoices for over 13 million
euros.
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