Police Raid Seizes Massive Counterfeit Wine Haul Worth $1.56 Million

Candie GetgenDec 7th, 2022, 10:26 pm

Police found knock-off bottles of Penfolds and DBR Lafite wines.(Photo: Payam Masouri/Pexels)

A police raid operation has seized over 40,000 bottles of counterfeit wine in the South China province of Fujian. According to Vino Joy, the illicit wine haul was estimated at a value of over RMB 11 million ($1.56 million).

According to reports, this booze raid was one of the local authority’s in-depth and “iron fist” operations to crack down on food safety issues that affect people’s livelihoods.

Three warehouses in Zhangzhou city were raided. The alleged suspect was identified as Wu Moumou. Netease reported that the scale of the illegal business was “huge,” with the circumstances being “very serious.”

Among the huge volume of knock-off wine bottles, faux labels displaying the trademarks of Penfolds and DBR Lafite were found.

Vino Joy reported that the main suspect is currently facing a criminal investigation.

Both red wine and foreign wine have a large consumer market in southern Fujian, according to Netease. Due to strict supervision within the market, some individuals resort to counterfeiting recognizable trademarks to make a profit. Netease reported that the wine bust in Fujian helped to promote the healthy development of the industry.

Shockingly enough, this is the second bootleg wine haul to be reported on in recent news. Within the past week, a booze tax-scam operation was raided by police in Spain, uncovering over 20,000 bottles of wine without official tax labeling. The illegal operation was coordinated within a hidden room located near an unnamed warehouse in the Marina Alta area.

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Candie Getgen

Candie Getgen is an editor and the database manager for The Daily Pour. Before immersing herself in the world of spirits journalism, Candie has been many things: a bartender, a literary journal editor, an English teacher — and even a poet. Candie has a passion for gin and shares it with the world in hopes of helping others fall in love with it, too (if they haven't already!). When not writing, Candie enjoys sipping a Negroni while drawing or relaxing by the pool with a campy mystery novel.