Russian cops bust 30-million-dollar contraband cheese operation

Russian authorities uncovered a criminal ring that produced $30 million worth of cheese, using products imported from overseas that were banned under the country’s recent sanctions against the West.

In a joint raid involving at least four law enforcement agencies, officers found 470 tons of banned western rennet, a substance containing enzymes used for cheese production, along with forged labels from major cheese producers, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a new move, a hotline has been set up for people to pass on information about illegal imports or sales.

Earlier this month Vladimir Putin ordered customs officers to start destroying any such “contraband” intercepted on its way into the country, instead of just turning it back.

The destruction has prompted criticism from some politicians and an outcry from anti-poverty campaigners, who say the food should have been given to the poor.

Police claim the cheese, which had been sold under counterfeit labels, had made its way into grocery stores in St. Petersburg, as well as in the Moscow and Leningrad regions.

More than 370,000 people have backed an online petition calling on Mr Putin to give the food away.

“Unscrupulous suppliers are importing these products without quality compliance checks or compliance with transportation and storage conditions, which can make them unsafe to citizens’ health”, prosecutors said in a statement.

Two of the ring’s organizers and four other participants, aged 29 to 58, have been detained and face up to 10 years in prison for “especially large-scale fraud by an organized group”, police said.

As of Monday, 321 tonnes of animal products had been seized and 592 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, agricultural authorities said.