Not the end of the world....but close: Fake Rum.

[El Presidente]

https://www.lexblog.com/2021/07/08/eu-agency-helps-dismantle-fraudulent-rum-network/

EU agency helps dismantle fraudulent rum network

By News Desk on July 8, 2021

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Investigators have cracked a network that sent counterfeit rum from Central America to Europe.

 

Authorities said counterfeiting poses serious risks to health and safety but no-one is believed to have been ill in Europe.

In May, the Ministry of Public Health in the Dominican Republic reported that 420 people had suffered intoxication from beverages adulterated by methanol in the country and 145 had died this year.

The most recent investigation found the main destination of the fake rum was Spain but the fraud, which involved the liquor, bottles and labels, covered several countries and continents. Once bottled and labelled, the rum was shipped to the EU from Honduras and Guatemala.

The point of entry was mainly via the Netherlands, with goods then transported to Spain. The fake labels used several different brand names.

Thousands of bottles confiscated
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) was a coordination point between national authorities in Spain, the Netherlands, Honduras and Guatemala.

Information provided by the agency resulted in the seizure of roughly 340,000 bottles with an estimated value of €4.5 million ($5.3 million). Hundreds of suspicious containers were detected.

Following a tip off by OLAF, Honduran authorities seized two containers of fake rum and halted operations at the illegal production site. The liquor was produced in the Dominican Republic, bottled in Honduras, and counterfeit labels from China were put on drinks.

Multi-year and country operation
Ville Itälä, Director-General of OLAF, congratulated national authorities on the results that came despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which turned on-the-spot checks and meetings into online exchanges.

“This series of interventions was a major blow to a network that smuggled fake rum into Europe, and hopefully we have put a stop to it. I am glad that OLAF, with its international experience, could act as a pivot in a case with such cross-border dimensions. Together, we have made a contribution to protecting the health of EU citizens and to supporting the interests of legitimate EU companies.”

Earlier this year, the Spanish Guardia Civil reported it had intercepted more than 225,000 bottles of counterfeit rum as part of Operation Hitsmo.

An investigation led to 24 people either being arrested or investigated. The operation began in February 2019 and involved more than 50 Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch companies.

The first seizure of fake spirits as part of the probe took place in the Netherlands in late 2019 and involved 147,000 bottles of rum destined for Spain. OLAF and Dutch authorities inspected a warehouse in December 2019 and found that 96 percent of the bottles contained counterfeit rum, worth an estimated €2 million ($2.36 million).

[Chas.Alpha]

Incorrect. It is the end of the world... 😳

[Nino]

Terrible - but have had this happening in Cuba with Santiago and other rums last few years .... terrible stuff, just burnt sugar and methanol.

"Yes, incredible as it is : there is fake Rum in Cuba.

Well, there are a lot of fake things in Havana, but to expressly buy Santiago Rum in Santiago de Cuba and then find out that 2 out of 3 bottles were fake, just burned sugar in cheap alcohol, was extremely painful for my good Cuban friend to whom it happened.

Fortunately we had one good bottle and a bottle of very rare Weller Antique 107 Bourbon gifted to me by Gene. Gracias Eugenio !"

http://flyingcigar.de/startseite/havana-november-2018-champagne-davidoffs-fake-rum-javi-and-friends/

[99call]

A great vid from the brilliant Ralfy, on fake whisky. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-L67dwrb-Q

 

[SpecialK]

I remember the tourists dying in the DR a few years back from drinking this stuff... 

[Ryan]

As Nino says, I can remember seeing fake Santiago 11 year old on the shelves in Caracol shops. I saw quite a bit in February 2018.

I was just listening to a BBC World Service bit the other day about how 50,000 Cubans went blind in the early 90s due to cheap homemade rum. As soon as I heard about when it happened I was thinking it was probably also dietary deficiency, and it was. Small amounts of methanol in the home made rum, usually not much of an issue, but combined with a lack of Vitamin D/folic acid in the diet, caused the damage.

For "Cuban interest", It's worth the 9 minute listen.

https://wspartners.bbc.com/episode/w3ct1x10

[gorob23]

Not sure if ours was fake or not in 2016 because I didn't get a chance to have any, everyone kept drinking it as fast as we could pour 😂

[Huckleberry]

On 7/8/2021 at 4:17 PM, SpecialK said:

I remember the tourists dying in the DR a few years back from drinking this stuff... 

180 tourists and counting have died in Mexico as of the same result.  I say counting because it continues to happen at all inclusive resorts in Mexico and the DR.  Likely other places as well but those are the news catchers.  Discovery Channels Shark week is coming up so now they can say more tourists die from fake booze than they do shark attack, which is absolutely true.  Who would have ever thought that ocean water is the safest water to swallow?

[SpecialK]

8 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

180 tourists and counting have died in Mexico as of the same result.  I say counting because it continues to happen at all inclusive resorts in Mexico and the DR.  Likely other places as well but those are the news catchers.  Discovery Channels Shark week is coming up so now they can see more tourists die from fake booze than they do shark attack, which is absolutely true.  Who would have ever thought that ocean water is the safest water to swallow?

 

I hope the families of the victims can find some kind of justice... 

[helix]

Nothing is sacred anymore . F@#king people .

[BrightonCorgi]

I wonder what brands of Rum?  Probably very mainstream stuff like Bacardi.

Dominican Republic had/has an issue with counterfeit liquor.  Several tourists have died over the years at all-inclusive's due to this.