Russian police bust illegal cheesemaking ring [View all]
Moscow (AFP) - Russian police said Tuesday they had detained an "international criminal gang" that produced contraband cheese worth some $30 million using banned Western ingredients.
Russian officials are currently waging war against produce from the West prohibited under a year-old embargo introduced in retaliation for sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine.
Authorities earlier this month started bulldozing piles of cheese, peaches and even frozen geese after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the destruction of food smuggled into the country illegally.
Now police in the Moscow region say they have arrested six people for producing cheese worth some $30 million (27 million euros) with banned Western rennet, a substance containing enzymes used for cheese production.
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The suspects could face fraud charges that carry a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison, police said.
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Russia's general prosecutor on Tuesday launched a hotline for citizens to report illicit Western cheeses and pates to the authorities.
http://news.yahoo.com/russian-police-smash-illegal-30-million-cheesemaking-ring-004308782.html
Who knew you could go to prison for 10 years for making illegal cheese in Russia.
Putin is nuts.
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