Five arrested after Kilkenny seaches as part of organised crime probe are released

Five men arrested this week following searches in Kilkenny in relation to horse passports and micro-chip tampering have been released without charge.

The five were arrested on Tuesday, June 30, on charges of participation in a criminal organisation contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006.

All the men arrested were aged between 35 and 55 years and were questioned at Garda Stations in Longford, Roscommon and Carrick-on-Shannon.

These arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into a number of persons engaged in offences of organised deception and fraudulent practices, involving the tampering of identification passports and microchips of horses presented for slaughter in Ireland.

The Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation led the investigation and were assisted by officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, who on June 6 conducted searches at farms, houses and a commercial premises.

After being held for questioning for nearly 48 hours, they were released without charge late yesterday evening.

A file is currently being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in relation to the investigation.