Horse meat : a vast traffic in europe has been dismantled

Stijn Nieuwendijk/Flickr

Published the 16.07.2017 at 16h40

A A

Keywords :

chevauxviandetraficenquête

The horse meat is once again in the spotlight. After the scandal of 2013 on the lasagna, a new network of traffic has been identified by investigators of Europol. Eight european countries are involved, including the Belgium, and was the head of the network.

All in all, ” seventy-five people have been arrested and prosecuted for crimes such as animal abuse, the production of fakes, or damage to the public health, money laundering and belonging to a criminal association “, said Europol in a press release.

A european tour

The origin of the investigation, the Guardia Civil Spanish had detected irregularities on the market for horse meat. In particular, they have observed a scam to put on the market of meat from horses in bad health, too old or unfit for consumption. The documents and chips for identification of animals, from Portugal and north Spain, were falsified.

Then, the meat was sent to Belgium, one of the biggest trading market of horse meat to the European Union. It is by following this trail that the police Spanish were able to reveal the extent of the network. They then worked with the fonts, belgian, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, swiss and british.

Lasagna bis

This collaboration would have helped to engage a broker Dutch, Jan Fasen, already pursued in the case of the lasagna of horse, according to the Spanish daily El Pais. Without a doubt, “the businessman Dutch’ arrested in Belgium cited by Europol in its press release.

Europol does not specify the final destination of the meat corrupt, but it’s a safe bet that it is found in products prepared frozen, as was the case in 2013 with Findus. Case to follow.