Spanish police investigate café poisoning; wine fraud

A woman is under investigation in Spain for poisoning several people during the past five years.

Victims attended the same bar in Zaidín, Huesca, and were chosen at random, according to investigators.

Guardia Civil said the woman is the alleged perpetrator of a crime against public health for the intentional poisoning of eight people between 2020 and 2025.

Operation Toxdin began in January 2024 when three people reported being victims of poisoning at the establishment.

Investigators discovered there had first been a report of poisoning in 2020, the results of which were positive for benzodiazepine. That the person was allegedly given the substance unknowingly while drinking coffee.

Officials found those poisoned had all frequented the same establishment and had positive results in their blood tests. One person was involved in a traffic accident because of the effects caused by ingesting the drug.

The person under investigation was taking benzodiazepine medication on prescription and appears to have selected the victims at random.

Among other precautionary measures, the suspect has been suspended from running a hospitality establishment.

Wine fraud
Earlier this year, the Guardia Civil helped uncover a suspected criminal network operating between Spain, Vietnam, and China dedicated to the counterfeiting of wines.

Europol, Interpol, and Vietnamese police authorities were also part of Operation Epígrafe.

Seven people living in Valencia and Álava were investigated for offences such as membership of a criminal organization, document falsification and fraud. The network was involved in the illicit trade of products protected by a seal which is supposed to guarantee international standards of authenticity and excellence.

The warning came from a Spanish citizen on vacation in Vietnam in March 2023, when he discovered a bottle of wine labeled Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja in a store. The bottle had a similar design to one distributed by a winery in La Rioja Alta.

Suspecting its authenticity, he purchased it and took the bottle for analysis in Spain. Results confirmed that the wine, cork, packaging and labeling didn’t meet the standards of the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja.

An analysis of the bottle’s contents identified three companies involved in wine exports to Asia. Europol and Interpol officers, with the help of Vietnamese law authorities, intensified efforts to tackle counterfeit Rioja wine.

The investigation discovered these three companies had created a network to export thousands of liters of wine from various communities, but never from La Rioja. Once in Vietnam, the contents were extracted, bottled, labeled, and distributed as if they were Rioja.

In total, 17 brands were identified in Vietnam marketed under false names: Beronica, Luxiumwine, 1910, 1/One, El Agar, Rozita, Marina, 1920, Ebro River, Bottle 1965, Vinaria de Luxium, Luxium Discovery, Cañas, Alto Rioja, Mauricio, 16 Pineal Ebro, Enriqueta, and María Rivera.

Officials discovered another bottle labeled as Rioja wine in China. An analysis confirmed the contents were Rioja wine, but the front labeling did not meet established standards. However, the bottle had an original back label attached.

Various documents are being analyzed to quantify the amount of wine illegally traded and the financial gain by those under investigation.

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/03/spanish-police-probe-cafe-poisoning-wine-fraud/