Agents of the National Police have arrested six people in Leganés (Madrid) and in Seseña (Toledo) and have dismantled a criminal group that allegedly swindled 17 million euros by exporting hams with counterfeit health seals for five years.
Those arrested held different positions of responsibility in a company dedicated to meat cutting in Leganés and, to carry out their scams, they used the legal seal of another company to attribute to the product the legality required to be able to market the hams abroad.
The investigation began last August, when the police learned that a meat company with warehouses in the towns of Leganés and Seseña could be using a false health seal, as reported by the Madrid Police Headquarters.
In this company they were in charge of cutting up the hams, and after stamping the false seal on them, they distributed them to their clients, who exported these products without knowing about this illicit activity. Furthermore, the company that owned the legal seal was unaware of this illicit activity, which had been developing for the last five years.
After the investigations carried out, a labor inspection was planned at both headquarters, with the collaboration of the Provincial Labor and Social Security Inspection of Madrid, as well as Inspectors from the Health Departments of Madrid and Toledo.
Thus, in the records carried out, the false seal could be located on the warehouse located in the town of Leganés. Finally, six individuals were arrested, who held different positions of responsibility within the company, as allegedly responsible for the crimes of belonging to a criminal group, fraud and document falsification, subsequently being brought to justice.
Likewise, the Health Authority proceeded to immobilize and destroy a total of ten pallets of meat, stored in the cold rooms, due to various irregularities in food preservation and upon observing that there could be meat in poor condition.
