BRUSSELS, June 2 (RIA Novosti) - Belgian customers officers have seized and destroyed about 9,000 bottles of counterfeit French-branded cognac from Georgia worth $200,000, Belgium's RTL television channel said Friday.
Boxes labeled as being from France's Cognac region were seized by customs officials at the port of Antwerp en route from Georgia to Latvia. Tests proved the drinks to be fakes.
The Latvian businessman who owned the counterfeit stock covered the cost of the scrapping, sources said, and Antwerp prosecutors have opened an investigation into the case.
Georgia is looking for alternative exports markets for its wine and spirits - one of its biggest export items - after Russia, previously its No. 1 market for alcoholic drinks, banned imports on March 27 citing health concerns. Georgia said the move was politically motivated.
The South Caucasus country has repeatedly voiced its concerns over domestic bootleggers' sales of fake alcohol abroad. Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said Thursday that Georgia would do its best to prevent underground producers from infiltrating the global alcohol market.
