14,000 Fake Bottles of Wine Seized in Shanghai and Xiamen

By Isabel Chan

Police have confiscated 14,000 bottles of fake Australian wine during a raid on three warehouses in Shanghai and Xiamen, arresting six people in the process.

Shine reports that the counterfeiters were caught reproducing and selling fake Penfolds wine, a famous Australian brand, online. According to the police, the fake Penfolds would have sold for up to RMB10 million (USD1.5 million) based on their price tags.

After e-commerce platform Alibaba tipped off authorities in August, Hongkou district police commenced their investigation. 

The bogus wine was said to be sold at a third of the actual Pensfold market price. “A bottle of 750ml was sold at about 200 yuan, while the market price of the authentic wine is 600 yuan,” said Xie Yijun, a Hongkou police officer.

While tests showed that the fake wine did not have detrimental health effects, it was still said to be of inferior quality.

From May to August, RMB1.2 million worth of counterfeit wine bottles had been sold on the Internet shop, according to the police. The wine was usually sold to and bought by bars, clubs and KTVs.

Over 2,000 bottles of the wine were discovered at a warehouse in Shanghai's Songjiang district. In Xiamen, more than 10,000 bottles and an additional 10,000 forged labels were discovered at two other warehouses.

[Image via Shine]

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