Фото: 32.fsvps.gov.ru
A shipment of “frozen pork fat on skin” weighing 22.5 tonnes was stopped from entering Russia from Belarus, according to the press service of the Department of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) for the Bryansk, Smolensk, and Kaluga regions.
The cargo was discovered on October 28 during an inspection of a Belarusian-registered truck traveling from Minsk to the Russian city of Ivanovo.
Documents submitted with the shipment stated that the product had been produced at one of Belarus’s meat-processing enterprises.
However, during further checks, veterinary inspectors found a counterfeit cargo registration stamp marked “Cargo Registered” bearing the signature of a nonexistent Rosselkhoznadzor employee. Analysis of Rosselkhoznadzor’s information systems also showed that the cargo had not been logged at the Krasnaya Gorka border checkpoint.
In addition, examination of the veterinary certificate revealed signs of forgery and confirmed that it was not registered in the Belarusian veterinary identification system. When the QR code on the document was scanned, it led to an external website with an interface resembling the official portal.
Inspectors also found cut marks on some of the veterinary stamps on the product.
The truck and its cargo have been detained pending investigation. Samples have been taken for laboratory testing to rule out dangerous animal diseases.
Rosselkhoznadzor’s press service stated that the illegally imported products of unknown origin will be destroyed.