The Civil Guard stops in Alicante the main architect of the biggest food scam in Europe


The Civil Guard stops in Alicante the main architect of the biggest food scam in Europe

The Horsegate, consisting of the commercialization of horse meat by passing it as beef, initially discovered in 2013 in the United Kingdom, affected more than a dozen countries in Europe.

The Gazel operation, carried out by the Civil Guard, meant the dismantling of a criminal organization for similar events and also led by the now detained, is considered one of the most important operations coordinated by Europol.

The Civil Guard has arrested in the Alicante town of Calpe JMMCF, a Dutch citizen based in our country, at the request of the French Authorities, for their responsibility in the biggest food scam in Europe, known as Horsegate, the horse meat scandal .

Horsegate

In 2013, the scandal jumped when it was discovered that an important French meat market had sold hundreds of tons of horse meat by posing as veal and with which pre-cooked dishes such as lasagna, musakas or chili were made.
The plot, initially discovered in the United Kingdom, extended its tentacles in more than a dozen countries, where some well-known brands of precooked food would have used this meat to make millions of dishes.
The owner of the French meat company has been convicted of these events along with the now detained, who acted as an intermediary with another citizen of Dutch origin.
This person had already been detained by the Civil Guard in the framework of the Gazel operation carried out in July 2017, being, until the moment of the current detention, provisionally awaiting trial.

Operation Gazel

The Gazel operation, developed by the Central Operational Environment Unit of the Civil Protection Service of the Civil Guard in July 2017, was carried out against the criminal organization led by the now detained and focused on the sale of meat of horse not suitable for human consumption as it is not subject to the mandatory controls that must pass these products.
The dismantling of this Organization resulted in the arrest of 65 people among owners of slaughterhouses, veterinarians and ranchers, in addition to the leader of the plot, the now detained by claim of the French authorities.
The operation is considered one of the most important coordinated by Europol, as there are a large number of affected European Union countries and whose police forces collaborated with the Civil Guard in the dismantling of this criminal network.
The facts for which he was arrested in Spain in the framework of Operation Gazel are similar to those that caused him to be convicted in France by the Court of Grande Instance in Paris.
Given the possibility that the convicted person could escape the action of justice, given the unlimited resources available to them, the French authorities, through the usual channels of collaboration, requested the Civil Guard to arrest him, initiating an investigation to the location of the respondent, taking place in the Alicante town of Calpe on July 23.
The operation has been carried out by the Justice Flee Team of the Central Operating Unit in conjunction with the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of the Civil Guard.
The detainee has been made available to the Central Court of Instruction number 3 of the National Court.

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