Madrid [Spain], May 27: Police in Spain have broken up a criminal network that is alleged to have illegally sold meat from severely malnourished and sick sheep and goats, officials said on Monday.
Investigators found the goods were sold, without any controls, to at least nine Asian restaurants, and online to private households, the Guardia Civil police unit said.
The Madrid region was worst affected. Five people were arrested and 12 others are under investigation. Four restaurants were closed by the authorities as a precautionary measure.
A police spokesman told journalists that during the search of several illegal slaughterhouses, more than 200 sick and dying animals were discovered in San Fernando de Henares, east of the Spanish capital.
They had been kept in filthy conditions, surrounded by severed animal heads and rats.
The newspaper El País and other media outlets have described the operation in San Fernando de Henare as a "slaughterhouse of horror." (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune