Kenneth Fox & Beat News
Four men have been arrested and charged in connection with organised deception and fraudulent practices involving the tampering of identification passports and microchips of horses due for slaughter.
The arrests come following a three-year joint investigation carried out by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The four men one is aged in his 30s, one in his 40s and two in their 50s were due in Kilkenny District Court this morning.
Operation Lanyard
There have been other searches under Operation Lanyard with the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation that have taken place in recent years.
The NBCI assisted by officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland conducted planned searches at locations in Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, Westmeath and Kilkenny on the 6th of June 2019.
A total of seven (7) sites were searched including farms, houses and a commercial premises.
The searches were part of an ongoing investigation conducted by members of The Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation into offences of deception pursuant to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Offences Act, 2001 surrounding fraudulent practices regarding tampering of identification passports and microchips of horses presented for slaughter in this jurisdiction.
This was a Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation led operation supported by officers from, Criminal Assets Bureau, Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau.
