- Suspects face charges of fraud, forgery, and violations of consumer market regulations
- Profits were inflated by mixing organic citrus with conventional fruit
- At the time of the scam, organic lemons were over 400% more expensive than conventional ones
Murcia, 18 June 2025 – The Guardia Civil of the Murcia Region, in cooperation with the Region of Murcia’s Organic Farming Council (CAERM), has concluded Operation “Hot Lemon”, an investigation into a citrus fraud scheme worth over half a million euros.
Three business owners from the fruit and vegetable sector are being investigated for allegedly committing fraud, falsifying documents, and violating consumer protection laws.
The inquiry began as part of an oversight effort by CAERM and SEPRONA (Guardia Civil’s environmental protection unit) aimed at monitoring the commercial practices around organic citrus fruits.
Initial surveillance of farms in the Guadalentín region uncovered irregular practices, including the mixing of certified organic citrus with non-organic citrus batches. These mixtures were made outside authorized food-handling facilities, sometimes during transport. Trucks were seen stopping at predetermined locations to transfer goods between vehicles before reaching the final buyer.
The fraudulent citrus was sold to juice manufacturing companies at organic prices. According to audits carried out by CAERM experts, the producers used forged delivery notes to fake the traceability of the products, allowing them to market and sell conventional fruit as organic.
At the time of the fraud, the price of conventional lemons was about €0.06 per kilo, while organic lemons fetched €0.25 per kilo—a markup of 417%.
One company that unknowingly bought the fraudulent produce suffered major losses, as it was forced to halt the export of over 430 tons of juice, which could no longer be marketed as organic due to the compromised supply chain.
Operation “Hot Lemon” has led to the formal investigation of the three businessmen involved, who now face serious criminal charges.
