The Spanish police have broken up a counterfeiting ring that sold deceptively genuine copies of top Spanish wines such as Pingus and Vega Sicilia at online auctions and through online shops. Four suspects have been arrested and four more are being charged, a police spokesperson said in Madrid. The gang operated from La Coruña, Madrid and Malaga. According to the investigations, wines with a purchase value of approximately 19 euros were dressed to look like Pingus and Vega Sicilia. For example, Pingus 2004 and 2006, the second wine Flor de Pingus and the "Unico" from Vega Sicilia were counterfeited. The wines were sold for up to 1900 euros per bottle.
During several house searches, the Spanish police seized 1,600 Pingus labels, plus 2,000 of Vega Sicilia Unico, as well as wooden crates and corks.
The case first came to the attention of the police through tips from a Unico buyer from Denmark who noticed the forgery. The Pingus owner Peter Sisseck also alerted the investigators because his team had noticed a high number of presumed fake wines in a short time.
(uka)