Three arrested in Mallorca for fake olive oil fraud

Three arrested in Mallorca for fake olive oil fraud

Guardia Civil officers on the Balearic island of Mallorca have arrested three individuals for their involvement in the alleged fraudulent sale of fake olive oil. Officers seized 4,000 litres of a product that the detainees were selling as Mallorcan extra olive oil. It was in fact not from the island, nor was it even olive oil, instead, it was made from inferior sunflower oil.

They have been charged with the crimes of fraud, and also – since the labelling on their bottles was fake – certificate falsification, and a crime against intellectual property.

After a warning at the start of the year from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Balearic Islands, the Nature Protection Service detected the possible fraud and subsequently launched an operation. As a result of the investigations, it was found that the detainees sold their oil with false labels, in which it assured that the oil was made from superior quality olive. when it was not.
A product distribution network had been set up by the detainees between businesses and distributors on the Balearic Islands. This would have brought them enormous financial benefits, since the difference in price of product between the one they bought and sold was significant.
Since January 2021, the Conselleria had its suspicions that fraudulent manipulation of the packaging, distribution, and sale of organic extra virgin, and extra virgin olive oil, was taking place. Their investigations have shown that the oil was neither of quality nor did it come from Mallorca, as the labelling ensured. During the investigation, inspections were carried out in Mallorca, Eivissa, and in the provinces of Jaen and Cadiz, as reported by lasprovincias.es.

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