Meat withdrawn from sale in Romania after links to criminal activity
The meat products were believed to have been purchased, by a criminal organisation, from a number of EU countries without VAT, and then the VAT added on at the point of resale.
Checks were carried out on 13 operators by the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC), which said it discovered "the existence of the marketing and storage of certain quantities of adulterated meat and exceeded the minimum durability date".
Around 129t of meat were completely withdrawn from sale, while another 100t of meat and meat products were temporarily halted.
Among the meat withdrawn from sale were 13.6t of chicken wings, which exceeded the use by date of November 2013, 350kg of pork belly and turkey drumsticks which had been imported from Italy and Poland without documents of origin from the manufacturer, and 160kg of chicken legs with organoleptic signs of alteration.
Marius Alexandru Dunca, president, ANPC, said he wanted to draw to the attention of traders the fact that "these checks will continue in the coming days" and that those who do not observe the law will be severely punished. "ANPC is interested in the rights of consumers," he added.
A total of 13 fines were awarded totalling around RON 57,000 (€12,650).
As part of the investigation prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DICOT) conducted searches on 102 properties across 18 countries in order to try and dismantle the organised criminal gang, thought to consist of around 80 people which specialise in tax evasion, money laundering and the circulation of adulterated products.
According to the DICOT there was a reasonable suspicion that members of these criminal groups are purchasing predominately meat and eggs from EU countries: the Netherlands, Poland, UK, Germany without VAT, with the merchandise then being sold to the final beneficiary with the VAT added.
After purchasing the goods, the group recorded deliveries to "ghost" companies in other EU states, however the goods were actually sold on the Romanian market, without the proper authorisations or documentation, said DICOT.
Ten people have been detained by DICOT.
