French police made 21 arrests on Monday as part of an investigation into claims that meat from horses used for drugs testing found its way into the food chain.
The arrests were made at various locations in the south of France following a tip-off that hundreds of horses, including some that had been owned by pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, were sold to abattoirs after their veterinary papers were falsified, a police source said.
More than 100 officers were involved in raids at several Sanofi offices and at various abattoirs, including one in Gerona in northern Spain. Among those arrested were at least three vets and several meat dealers, including one based in Narbonne in southwestern France who is suspected of being the ringleader of the illicit trade, police sources said. Sanofi said in a statement that the company was cooperating with the investigation into “possible fraud” and that it had sold around 200 horses in the last three years, generally to veterinary colleges, individuals or horse centres.
The arrests were made at various locations in the south of France following a tip-off that hundreds of horses, including some that had been owned by pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, were sold to abattoirs after their veterinary papers were falsified, a police source said.
More than 100 officers were involved in raids at several Sanofi offices and at various abattoirs, including one in Gerona in northern Spain. Among those arrested were at least three vets and several meat dealers, including one based in Narbonne in southwestern France who is suspected of being the ringleader of the illicit trade, police sources said. Sanofi said in a statement that the company was cooperating with the investigation into “possible fraud” and that it had sold around 200 horses in the last three years, generally to veterinary colleges, individuals or horse centres.