Over 380 tons of wheat seeds, worth more than €300, were seized by the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Finance Police) as part of an operation to combat food piracy between Puglia and Sicily.
These are seeds for the production of certified flour wheat. Three entrepreneurs, owners of companies active in the cereal trade, have been reported for manufacturing and trading goods by usurping industrial property titles after checks by the provincial commands of Bari and Trapani.
According to the prosecution, the suspects sold 6220 bags and packages of durum wheat of the traced varieties without having paid for the benefit of the breeders of the plant species and, in addition, produced illicit mixes with quantities of uncertified wheat. The checks also involved companies located in Campania and Lazio.
The investigations were launched to prevent, as specified in a note from the Guardia di Finanza, "fraudulent phenomena in the sector of the production of certified plant varieties" and to verify "compliance with the obligations regarding the marketing of goods (seeds) registered with the Community Office for Plant Varieties or with the Italian Office for 'Patents and Trademarks of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy'".
