Russia seizes $30 million worth of cheese, cracks down on “dairy mafia”

Police in Russia have smashed a major smuggling ring, arresting a gang suspected of trafficking in dangerous contraband. The goods in question aren't drugs or weapons, though, but cheese. Some 470 tons of the stuff, to be precise, worth an estimated $30 million and, according to authorities, a risk to the health of the cheese-eating Russian public.

The Moscow Kremlin has been the central location of Russian political affairs since Soviet times

It's just the latest episode in Russia's war on Western food. The country has banned illegally imported food from the West, in response to Western sanctions on Russia over its involvement with Ukraine. Local authorities have in turn taken a no-nonsense approach to anyone or anything violating the ban.

Uniformed inspectors reportedly impounded three frozen geese in a small village shop in central Russia. As witnesses looked on, an officer read out the charges: the birds, imported from Hungary, have improper documents and were labeled incorrectly, making them illegal under Russian law. The geese were later buried in a landfill.

Russian authorities have also liquidated peaches that were imported illegally

Authorities have also posted on social media about “liquidating” 19 tons of peaches. The fruit, said to have fraudulent papers, is shown being smashed to a pulp long into the night, even as thunder and lightning rages all around the landfill site.

A Russian supermarket

With Russia in the depths of an economic crisis, the images have provoked a strong reaction, especially as the ban on Western food has led to higher prices in supermarkets across the country.

Many Russians are bitterly opposed to all the waste: a recent petition against food destruction was signed by hundreds of thousands of people. It called for any products seized to be distributed to the needy, to pensioners and the unemployed.

A softer side to the Russian police, seen here giving away flowers on International Women's Day

But the authorities, usually sensitive to a public outcry, remain undeterred; if anything, they've been stepping up their efforts.

Skyline of Moscow, capital city of Russia

The story of a ban on brie, an edict against Edam and a crackdown on Camembert may seem ripe for jokes, but in Russia it's no laughing matter - authorities are taking their "war on cheese" -- and selected other foods -- very seriously indeed.

(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)