By Andy Young
Police in Italy have raided a workshop in the country's north, seizing hundreds of thousands of euros worth of fake Champagne.
The counterfeiters were looking to pass off sparkling wine as Moët & Chandon and police found over 9000 bottles of prosecco with Moët labels plus a further 40,000 labels. They also discovered a machine used to make the metallic wrappers that cover the top of the bottles.
In a statement police said the already-labelled bottles could have earned the counterfeiters around 350,000 euros, plus the extra labels, if used, could have brought in more than 1.8 million euros.
Lieutenant Colonel Luca Lettere said: "The system was very detailed and specialised. They chose champagne because it can be sold for such a high profit. Buying prosecco for €1 or €2, they can put it on the market for €35 or €40,” he said. “We absolutely cannot rule out that other goods may be involved."