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\"The empty authentic bottles were gathered from restaurants and delivered mainly by two individuals working in the food industry,\" Europol said.

The wines were sold in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States and often ended up being poured into the glasses of unassuming customers at wine bars and catering services.

\"PHOTO:
Philip Toscano/PA Wire/Press Association Images
PHOTO: A recycling bin of empty wine bottles is seen here Feb. 5, 2016.
>

\"Once a contact with a buyer was established via the a big e-commerce platform, the counterfeiters expanded even further their promotional offers, setting prices way below the ones seen usually on the market. A magnum format, 1.5 l, of some of the counterfeit wines typically exceeds €1,000 per bottle,\" the press release said.

The investigation was part of Europol's Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition (IPC3) that facilitated the information exchange and provided technical and analytical support to the participating countries.

Europol announced this will allow them to \"further develop the operation and provide the other countries involved with targeted information.\"

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