Europe’s police crack massive horsemeat trafficking ring

Police from seven European countries detained 26 people in a crackdown on a horsemeat trafficking ring, the EU’s judicial agency Eurojust said Saturday. Veterinary services were examining over 200 horses recovered during the police raids. The animals involved were used for recreation as well as for racing, meaning they could have been injected with drugs including antibiotics, according to Belgian public television provider RTBF. Abattoirs in the south of France were used, French and Belgian sources said.

[Police] succeeded in stopping an organised criminal network involved in trade in illegal horsemeat.

Eurojust statement

Eurojust said in a statement that the swoop by hundreds of police and judicial officials “succeeded in stopping an organised criminal network involved in trade in illegal horsemeat.” The main suspect in the ring was Belgian. The suspect, who was operating out of Belgium, had been under investigation since November 2012, a Eurojust statement said. There were also arrests in Germany and the Netherlands. Related raids in Ireland and Luxembourg on Friday led to the seizure of 37,000 euros ($40,000).

Europe Horsemeat