October• 2018 | 63READER’S DIGESTcamera.Inthegatheringgloomofa
late November afternoon, a 69-year-
old man arrived to collect the pack-
age, unaware that seven investigators
in unmarked cars were watching. He
thendrove85kilometressouthand
checked into a four-star hotel.
Investigatorslistenedinfroma
nearbypolicestationasthesuspect
made a series of calls on several
mobilephones.Hewasabouttopass
thepackageon.Ashehaddinnerthat
evening,twodetectivesweresitting
at an adjoining table.
Whenthehandoverfailedtotake
place, the food detectives stormed
his room and arrested him. The
suspect,whocannotbenamedfor
legalreasons,toldthemthathehad
abonaidecompanymakingveter-
inary drugs. But it proved to be just
afront.In2016hewassentencedto
18 mont hs.
“Notonlydidhegethispackage,
he got us too!” says Gussow with a
wry smile.ABorderlessCrime
Food fraud is booming globally.
In terms of money generated, it is
as profitable as drug running and
humantrafficking.Ittakesseveral
forms that, unlike banned growth
hormone, directly afect consumers.
“Criminals adulterate products,
suchascheapwinewithpurealco-
hol, or beef with horsemeat, paying
no heed to the safety of consumers,
and then pass them off as quality“We went to the Public Prosecutor
to ask if we could replace the contents
of the suspect package with actual
baking powder,” says Gussow. “He also
gave us permission to add tracking
and bugging devices and we returned
it to the parcel delivery system.”Covert Surveillance
Thepackagewasdulydeliveredto
alogisticscentreinnorthernNeth-
erlands, where the food detectives
PHOTO: MIQUEL GONZALEZhad set up a covert surveillance