UK: An illicit factory producing fake vodka was discovered in Derbyshire during Operation Opson IV which was found to have more than 20,000 empty bottles for filling, hundreds of empty five-litre containers which had contained screenwash used to make the vodka and a filter system used to remove the chemical's colour and smell.
The finished product was found to contain high levels of isopropyl alcohol, which can cause dizziness, low blood pressure, abdominal pain and nausea.
ITALY: Operation Opson IV also uncovered a fish processing factory selling previous frozen seafood as fresh. The seafood had been sprayed with a chemical containing citric acid, phosphate and hydrogen peroxide to disguise that it was rotting.
Another case in Italy involved a cheese factory which had curd and other dairy products past their sell-by dates. Chemicals such as citric acid were being used to treat the dairy produce to give it the appearance of fresh mozzarella, which was then smoked in the back of a van over burning rubbish.
BELGIUM: Food supplements allegedly derived from traditional Chinese medicines were found to contain high levels of toxic mercury during Operation Opson IV.
CZECH REPUBLIC: One of the worst cases involving fake vodka occurred in 2012, when 50 people died and 80 people were blinded as a result of methanol poisoning. Two men were sentenced to life imprisonment last year for their role in the tragedy.
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