The Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Naples, during separate interventions aimed at protecting “made in Italy” and combating the exploitation of irregular labor, seized three textile production centers, two of which were completely illegal and unknown to the Tax Office, for serious violations found in terms of safety in the workplace and waste management. Three individuals were reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Nola.
In particular, the financiers of the Ottaviano Company have identified, among the municipalities of Terzigno, San Gennaro Vesuviano and San Giuseppe Vesuviano, the factories equipped with high-performance machinery which, through the use of irregular Italian and foreign workers, carried out production activities in violation of environmental regulations as well as the most basic safety procedures.
Furthermore, the activities allowed the production and placing on the market, to the detriment of unsuspecting consumers, thousands of textile articles and accessories with the false wording of Made in Italy.
During the first intervention, a property was identified and seized that hid a completely illegal upholstery business, carried out with all the necessary equipment and operating with the presence of a foreign worker without a work contract, but legal on Italian territory: the owner will be required to pay fines ranging from 1.800 to 10.800 euros.
During a second inspection, however, a textile factory was seized, inside which there were dozens of machines, clearly tampered with to speed up production activity, exposing workers to serious risks for their safety.
In a third operation, the financial police discovered an illegal bed pillow factory, in which a real production and marketing center for the fake had been set up.
In this case, the company, completely unknown to the tax authorities and in the absence of the required provisions, had started a flourishing production of irregular goods. In fact, inside the factory, in addition to the already packaged pillows and the raw materials scattered around the premises, 12.000 illustrated brochures were found, clearly reporting the words "MADE IN ITALY", as well as other indications about the hypothetical qualities, characteristics and properties of the products, such as "hypoallergenic pillow", "anti-mite", "orthopedic", "100% memory", "aloe vera", ready to be placed - without the conditions being met - in the packaging of the bed accessories to be placed on the market (or, in some cases, already present on the packaged products).
Furthermore, the owner of the business was unable to produce any documentation or certification relating to the origin and quality of the goods in question.
At the workplace, 4 Italian workers were discovered, without a contract and, therefore, completely undeclared, one of whom was also a recipient of Citizenship income. The employer will therefore also be charged with the so-called maxi-sanction provided for in the matter (from 7.560 to 45.360 euros).
While the artisanal upholstery business was aimed at private citizens and was completely undeclared, the other two textile factories placed under seizure had, instead, set up a solid production line of clothing and bed pillows, feeding the wholesale market supply chain.
The checks ended with the reporting of 3 individuals to the Nola Judicial Authority, for serious breaches of workplace safety and waste management, as well as for the crimes of fraud in the exercise of trade and sale of industrial products with false signs. These individuals are to be considered presumed innocent until the final sentence that ascertains their guilt.
During the operations, 7 premises with an area of 540 m153, 350 machines, work tables and production and packaging equipment, 385.650 tools of various kinds, 29.772 clothing and textile processing accessories, 8.074 finished or semi-finished items, 12.000 pillows, pillowcases and accessories, 395.030 illustrative brochures, 6.300 metres of textile and fabric material, 820 kg of sponge, as well as XNUMX kg of non-hazardous special waste found in the workplace were seized.
The service result achieved is a tangible sign of the commitment of the Guardia di Finanza to prevent and repress the phenomenon of the counterfeit market, especially for a country like Italy, which makes Made in Italy and its brands of excellence a source of pride at an international level, in the full awareness that counterfeiting distorts the mechanisms of competition, can cause harm to the health of consumers because it uses low-quality or even harmful materials, causes damage to the environment, as a consequence of the illegal disposal of processing residues, and is associated with tax and social security evasion, as well as forms of exploitation of labor, even in the absence of the most basic safety standards.
Article published on November 4, 2023 - 08:28
