Eurojust, which co-ordinated the investigation, said it is ongoing.

Since 2012, 26 arrests were made, €37,000 in cash was seized, more than 200 horses were examined, dozens of searches of commercial and private premises were carried out, and more than 800 horse passports were seized, as well as medication, dozens of microchips and computer equipment.

Between 2010 and 2013, an estimated 4,700 horses unfit for human consumption were slaughtered and introduced into the legal food chain.

In France alone, 400 horse passports with anomalies were detected.

Due to falsification, suppression and/or modification of official health documentation by an organised criminal network, the horsemeat, although deemed unfit for human consumption, was fraudulently introduced into the European food chain, in breach of EU food chain legislation which requires the provenance of all meat to be accounted for and traceable.

The main suspect was a Belgian national operating from Belgium, and investigations into his activities revealed links to other member states, including Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Dutch meat wholesaler Willy Selten was recently sentenced to two-and-a-half-years for selling more than 300 tonnes of horsemeat on as beef.