Date£º
2018-11-23 09:06 Source£º
www.thedrinksbusiness.com Author:
Natalie Wang Translator:
Police in China have arrested 11 people and seized more than 50,000 bottles of fake wine bottled as Australia¡¯s Penfolds and China¡¯s Changyu in a crackdown in central Hebei province near Beijing.
Fake Penfolds Bin 707 wines were uncovered in the raids in Hebei province by police (photo source: WeChat)
The raids were carried out by police acting on a tip off from an authorised distributor for Penfolds, the flagship brand from Australia¡¯s wine giant Treasury Wine Estates, according to local media reports.
According to the police, the fake wines are produced in Shangqiu, a city in Heibei, and sold to 17 different provinces across China including Henan, Fujian, Guangzhou, Shandong, Guangxi and Hubei via WeChat, the country¡¯s most popular messaging and social media app.
The raids uncovered over RMB 7 million (US$1 million) worth of fake Penfolds and fake Changyu wines worth more than RMB 6 million (US$865,000).
Other branded fake wines were also found in the raids but not specified. The total value of wines involved in this case is reported to exceed RMB 100 million (US$14.4 million) based on a preliminary assessment, according to the police.
Penfolds is among China¡¯s most well-known imported wine brands, making it one of the most faked wines within China. Changyu, being China¡¯s oldest winery, leads China¡¯s domestic wine sales.
The investigation is still ongoing.
(https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/11/china-busts-us14-4-million-worth-of-fake-wines/)