FIVE MEN HAVE been arrested by gardaí investigating the alleged tampering of identification passports and microchips of horses which were to be slaughtered in Ireland.

Officers from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigations (GNBCI) said they arrested the men “for the offence of participation in a criminal organisation contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006″.

These arrests are part of an ongoing probe into a number of people alleged to be involved in offences of “organised deception and fraudulent practices, involving the tampering of identification passports and microchips of horses presented for slaughter”. 

The arrests are the latest development in an ongoing operation lead by GNBCI with support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

The five arrested men are currently detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Carrick-on-Shannon, Longford and Roscommon Garda Stations.