It is a vast trafficking in horses which has just been dismantled in Eure. In total, at least 200 horses have been illegally imported since 2021 allowing to generate nearly a million euros in illicit gains for the manager of a stud farm near Évreux.
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It is information from our colleagues from the Parisian, which was confirmed to us by the Seine-Maritime gendarmerie by press release.
The manager of a stud farm in Eure has recognized participating in horses traffic between Hungary in particular and France since 2021.
The man admitted to having imported between 150 and 200 horsepower per year, “In defiance of health regulations and in connection with Hungarian criminal groups”according to the national gendarmerie.
The authors of this traffic are involved in the falsification of documents to resell horses at overvalued prices. In total, at least 200 horses have been illegally imported since 2021 allowing to generate almost a million euros in illicit gains.
In May 2022, the French Institute of Horse and Riding (IFCE) alerted the National Brigade of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Investigations (BNEVP) of the existence of international traffic in equidated equines between Hungary and France.
The BNEVP performs several checks at the end of 2022 and collects elements confirming this traffic and informed the prosecution of the Evreux judicial court.
On March 3, 2023, a preliminary survey was open to the gang chief of scam organized with referral to the Rouen research section, in Cosaisine with the OCLAESS (Central Office to Combat Environmental and Health attacks public), the BNEVP and with the assistance of IFCE (French Institute of Horse and Riding).
-International police cooperation is also initiated under the aegis of Europol and Eurojust.
“The meticulous investigations carried out by the investigators reveal that the traffic of equines is organized from the stud farm”, Indicates the gendarmerie.
The manager of the stud farm located in Eure imported from Hungary, via a company specializing in the transport of horses, equines whose origin is falsified.
He then returned to their resale in particular with equestrian centers located in the Norman region but also throughout the national territory, by overvaluating the price of the animal between 2,000 and 5,000 euros, while it buys them around 200 euros.
According to Le Parisien, 34 victims were identified and heard by the investigators. 17 of them filed a complaint. Several of them disillusioned very quickly after buying the horses because of the “Administrative turpitudes” but also “Suspicious behavior of certain equines which have obviously never been drawn up”indicates the Parisian.
On September 25, 2024, a judicial operation enabled the manager of the manager, as well as two of his accomplices. The searches made to the homes of the defendants as well as to the headquarters of the horses transport company allow the seizure of many presumed falsified documents.
The manager of the stud farm acknowledges having imported between 150 and 200 horsepower per year since 2021 by providing itself in various countries including Hungary, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. The last Hungarian order dates back to February 2024.
By decision of the prosecution, the protagonists are released the time to exploit the documentation seized. His analysis confirms the constitutive falsifications of the scam.
On January 21, 2025, the main protagonists were then new placed in police custody.
At the end, the accused were summoned before the Evreux court court on March 25, 2025 at 1:30 p.m., pending the main instigator of traffic is placed under judicial supervision.
Nearly 400,000 euros in criminal assets were seized.
