Russia cracks down on illegal caviar trade

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MOSCOW, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Russian attempts to fight a growing illegal caviar trade were bolstered this week when Moscow police seized more than $2 million of counterfeit black caviar.

Yevgeny Shkolov of the Russian Interior Ministry's economic security department said Tuesday Moscow police had seized nearly 590 pounds of counterfeit black caviar from a supermarket chain, Itar-Tass reported.

"Police seized 268 kilograms (589.6 pounds) of black caviar to be destroyed," the department head said.

Shkolov added the "caviar contains a group of coliform bacteria, which is dangerous to people."

The Russian news agency reported that in response to the massive seizure, police have opened an investigation to determine the source of the counterfeit culinary goods.