Three personal and real precautionary measures with the preventive seizure of assets worth one million euros were carried out by the Carabinieri of the Agri-food Protection Department (RAC) of Salerno and by the Judicial Police of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Nocera Inferior, as part of an investigation, for the crimes of marketing of harmful food substances, corruption, disclosure of official secrets and gangmastering in the agri-food sector.
AP and MT were placed under house arrest while ADM was notified of a ban on residence, all co-owners and administrators of a canning industry operating in the agri-food sector in the Nocera-Samese area.
Today's operation, called "Crimson", originated from the investigations that on 26 May last year had already led to the emergency precautionary seizure of a large quantity (800 tons) of tomato concentrate of Egyptian origin containing pesticides above the permitted thresholds and partly already distributed on the market, with reference to the Italian nature of the product, generating in buyers the idea that the entire production chain of the double tomato concentrate, starting from the raw material, was of Italian origin.
Further investigations uncovered the corruption of a public official responsible for the ICQRF-Central Inspectorate for the Protection of Quality and Fraud Repression of Agri-food Products of Salerno. In particular, according to the prosecution, the entrepreneurs, repeatedly since 2018, received information from the public official in relation to the investigative activities aimed at verifying the healthiness of canned products marketed on a large scale in multiple foreign countries by the Spa, agreeing in exchange for the employment of the official's daughter, with related economic benefits to be paid upon her retirement.
In light of subsequent revelations made by the official to the investigators, it was ascertained that the arrested entrepreneurs had replaced the tomato concentrate taken for analysis, containing pesticides above the permitted threshold, with another specifically prepared by the entrepreneurs checked, in an operation to disturb the tracing of products harmful to public health.
During the investigation, the liability of the directors, owners of the canning industry, together with the employee DM, recipient of the residence ban, also emerged for the crime of illicit intermediation and exploitation of labor, since, with oppressive conduct, they employed workers in exploitative conditions, generating a strong fear in them in relation to their condition of vulnerability.
In particular, the harassment of underpaid illegal workers, who earned 4,35 euros per hour, also materialized in grueling shifts of 43 continuous hours of work, with observation, video surveillance and continuous control even of the time spent in the bathroom which, if deemed excessive, led to a pay cut and even to the cancellation of payment for the entire working day.
In relation to such conduct, a preventive seizure was ordered and executed for the purpose of confiscating the sum of 979.803,86 euros, as the proceeds of the crime. At the same time, the Provincial Directorate of INPS of Salerno proceeded to impose administrative sanctions for 275 thousand and 600 euros.
Article published on March 8, 2022 - 15pm
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