Touts and suppliers heard in horsemeat scam trial
On the second day of the trial in Marseille of a vast European traffic in horse meat around a Belgian trader, it is “the chain of horse suppliers” which was examined on Wednesday by the court, with two Frenchmen at the helm , a horse dealer and one of his “beaters”.
Pierre Gillet, 65, cattle seller in the Ardennes, allegedly sold to the main respondent, Jean-Marc Decker, a major Belgian horse trader, animals sometimes diverted to slaughterhouses without the knowledge of their owners. All while resorting to “beaters” and falsifying identification documents with the help of a veterinarian. According to the prosecution, it would have been sold to him for more than 456,000 euros of horses between 2012 and 2015.
Horses promised to a “peaceful retirement”
The trader and breeder is appearing for fraud and complicity in organized fraud as well as deception and falsification of documents allowing the identification and medical monitoring of animals, in disregard of European standards.
“We supplemented that it was the normal method since no one told us anything”, he affirmed for his defense, in response to the reading by the president of damning telephone tapping, in which he deplored in particular that he “fallen of Brussels (Editor’s note: the European Union) any decision and of which no one warned us”. Jean Daubre, one of his “beaters”, represented by his lawyer and whose case was examined on Wednesday morning, would have sold him 176 horses in 2012, for 80,000 euros.
Already convicted of breach of trust, this seller, also based in the Ardennes and now 81 years old, acquires horses from individuals promising them “a peaceful retirement”. The animals were in fact resold at low cost to be slaughtered. “They are not even able to assume what they have done for the dough”, protested Wednesday morning one of the victims of this defendant, the only natural person to have asked to constitute a civil party.
Eighteen people tried, including four Belgians and two Dutch
Luc Rappe, a Belgian veterinarian, also worked with Pierre Gillet. Judged for having backdated drug treatment sheets, he would also have handed over 154 blank documents for the benefit of the French supplier heard. His role was mentioned on Wednesday, and he should be heard personally on Thursday by the criminal court.
Seven other touts and sellers of French horses are to be heard between Wednesday and Thursday, on the third and fourth days of a trial which is due to last until June 24.
In total, 18 people are on trial, including four Belgians and two Dutch, in particular for fraud and complicity in fraud in an organized gang as well as for deception endangering human health. They picked up horses all over Europe, as far as Germany and Poland.