Russia says busts int’l ring producing contraband cheese worth $30mlnAugust 18, 2015 - 17:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian police said Tuesday they have busted an international ring involved in producing contraband cheese worth about 2 billion rubles ($30 million), arresting six people. The arrests are part of a government campaign to enforce a ban on imports of Western cheese and other agricultural products imposed a year ago in retaliation for U.S. and European Union sanctions on Russia. Police said the ring, whose operations began in March, had been supplying "as cheese a product made from cheese rennet whose import into Russia is forbidden." The product was then fixed with counterfeit labels of known foreign cheese producers and sold in supermarket chains and distribution centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg. During the investigation, police raided 17 homes, warehouses and offices in the Moscow region, where they found 470 tons of the rennet product, equipment for making the counterfeit labels and documents confirming the illegal activity, the police statement said. It said six people were arrested, but did not identify them. In recent weeks, in tacit acknowledgment that the import ban has been widely violated, the national agricultural oversight agency has been publicizing the destruction of tons of contraband food. As of Monday, 321 tons of animal products have been seized, of which 48 tons have been destroyed, the agency, Rosselkhznadzor, said. It said that of the 592 tons of fruit and vegetables seized, 552 tons have been destroyed. The public display of steamrollers or bulldozers being used to crush wheels of cheese, whole geese or crates of peaches has met with much criticism in Russia, which is suffering through an economic recession. Many people have signed a petition urging the government to donate the food to the poor instead. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |