A criminal group dealing in fake and illegal plant protection products and fertilizers has been busted in Romania and Italy

By: STA Date: 2024. 07. 04. 11:00

A criminal group was involved in the illegal trade of fake plant protection products and fertilizers banned in the European Union, which was dismantled by the Romanian and Italian authorities, Eurojust, the Hague-based EU agency responsible for judicial cooperation between the member states of the European Union, informed on Thursday.

(Photo: Pixabay)

According to the statement from The Hague, the members of the organized criminal group brought health-threatening, fake or banned plant protection products and fertilizers illegally from China and Singapore into the territory of the European Union. The products were sold under false labels as bio-pesticides and fertilizers.

Explaining the details of the case, it was announced that between February and May 2023, the Romanian customs authorities noticed three suspicious shipments from outside the European Union

Subsequent inspections by the plant health authorities confirmed that these were fake or banned products in Europe with fake labels. Further investigations and house searches in Romania revealed that the organized crime group, composed of Romanian and Italian citizens, used trading companies registered in Romania to sell the products in Italy. During the coordinated action of the authorities of the two countries concerned, house searches were conducted at ten locations in Arad, Bucharest, Verona and Naples. During the operation, the Romanian judicial authorities produced one of the suspects. The arrested criminal was prosecuted on suspicion of large-scale fraud, forgery and tax evasion, they informed.

MTI