Two men plead guilty in horsemeat investigation

Two men plead guilty in horsemeat investigation

Two men charged with fraud offences following a City of London Police Investigation into how food products became adulterated with horsemeat, have pleaded guilty.

hammer-719065_1920 MAlex Ostler-Beech from Hull and Ulrick Nielsen of Gentofte, Denmark, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud purchases of goods that contained, wholly or in part, a mixture of beef and horsemeat, by dishonestly arranging for beef and horsemeat to be combined for sale as beef, between the period January and October 2012.

It has been reported in the press that Jonathan Polnay, prosecuting, said both Ostler-Beech and Nielsen would disclose their involvement in the fraud in writing.

“There are issues relating to the precise dates of the indictment, the precise number of shipments that were undertaken and the financial loss to others,” Polnay said. “There may be an issue as to the consequential losses to the food industry as a whole and whether it’s possible to attribute a figure to be put on it.”

Judge Usha Karu said: “Dependant on the nature and extent of the allegations, a custodial sentence would be included in any sentencing options.”

A third man charged, Andrew Sideras of Southgate, pleaded not guilty. He will return to court to stand trial on 3rd July.

Both Beech and Nielsen have been released on bail until the end of the trial.

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