Italian police uncover counterfeit olive oil operation

The Italian police on Monday uncovered a fraud operation that doctored cheap oil to sell it as extra virgin olive oil, local media reported. According to the reports, 17 people were put under investigation on fraud-related charges, and three commercial operations were brought under observation in the central regions of Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Lazio. Police confiscated 5,000L of counterfeit oil kept in silos, and other 2,500L in garages where the fraudulent oil was being bottled, with an overall estimated market value of over 500,000 euro (US$630,000), local news agency Ansa said.