41 arrests for selling potentially dangerous horse meat

The operation, developed jointly by Europol and the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) targeted the illegal sale of horse meat unsuitable for consumption. The criminal network involved in this illegal sale is linked to a number of crimes including food fraud, money laundering and document fraud. The untraceable meat was sold on the Spanish, but also Belgian, German and Italian markets.

The investigation uncovered a large criminal network, which was altering the traceability of horse meat by falsifying transfer and identification documents. During the operational activities, national authorities arrested 35 individuals, including the heads of the network, while targeting 6 companies linked to the criminal organisation. During the raids in Spain, authorities seized half a tonne of horse meat unfit for consumption.

Active international cooperation, facilitated by Europol, enabled the dismantling of the criminal scheme with six other arrests made by the Belgian Federal Police. The suspects involved in the criminal network had different functions: from the ones who slaughtered the animals without the necessary controls to the individuals dealing with the transport, the veterinarians providing false documents and the butcher facilities, which sold the meat unfit for consumption.

Animal abuse generating millions in illegal profits

The suspects acquired horses from across Spain for free or by paying up to 100 euros per animal. Due to several factors, these animals were not destined for the food market and the potential illegal profit was substantial. Once the leader of the criminal network acquired enough livestock to activate the illegal scheme, they set up a complete cattle exploitation facility in 2019 and started exporting the meat to other European markets. Spanish officers raided the clandestine facilities and uncovered 80 horses, which had been abused and were suffering from various untreated diseases due to the lack of veterinary control.

This lack of supervision posed a significant risk for the development of zoonotic diseases transmittable to humans. Moreover, the animals endured poor conditions in the cattle facilities, a lack of food and water, as well as permanent stress situations during transport. Even a single illegal shipment generated 35 000 euros for the transporters, with an estimated turnover of EUR 4.5 million in turnover on the logistical side. The criminal network turned dirt into diamonds: horses, that were written off and worth only EUR 100 each, generated illegal profits of about EUR 1.5 million. 

Europol coordinated the operational activities, facilitated the information exchange and provided analytical support to national law enforcement authorities. During the action days, Europol deployed experts to Belgium and Spain to cross-check operational information against Europol’s databases in real time and provided leads to investigators in the field.