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Date Published: 19/01/2022
ARCHIVED - Murcia farms caught horsing around with official equine passports
Horses that were being bred for human consumption were issued with false passports in the Region of Murcia
A Guardia Civil operation, code-named ‘Horseon’, uncovered a fraudulent scheme in which irregular equine identification documents and microchips were being given to horses of unknown origin which were destined to be sold for meat.
The investigation began in February 2021, when two vets raised concerns about irregularly issued official documents and microchips with the Seprona (Wildlife Protection Services) branch of the Guardia Civil.
Officers then began inspecting horse breeding farms in the Region and uncovered a scheme in which horses of unknown or untraceable origin were given microchips and false documents.
Their investigation led them to a veterinary clinic where the fraudulent documents and microchips were being issued, allowing horses to enter into the food chain via butchers’ and slaughterhouses without meeting the sanitary requirements needed for human consumption.
The farms involved had been acquiring horses without documentation at a very low cost and then paying the clinic in question for fake microchips and passports, allowing them to make a significant profit. Officers estimate that this criminal operation could have resulted in over 500 fraudulent equine identities since 2016.
After almost a year of investigation, officers detained three owners of livestock farms in the Region of Murcia, who are now under investigation for alleged crimes of document falsification and crimes against public health, as well as two vets who are accused of document falsification, bribery and crimes against public health.
Another person was also arrested, an administrative staff member at the veterinary clinic, on suspicion of bribery and document falsification.
Images: Guardia Civil
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