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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A 70-year-old man in Miami-Dade has been taken into custody, accused of illegally selling horse meat.

A tip from a confidential informant led Miami-Dade police investigators to Manuel Coto-Martinez.

On November 10th, an undercover detective bought 20 pounds of horse meat for $140 directly from Coto-Martinez, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

Coto-Martinez was told that the horse meat was to be consumed by an anemic child. It is a common belief by many horse meat buyers that it can cure or aid in treating anemia and other conditions.

“I’ve heard it but I don’t believe it,” said Cecilia Frau, who boards her horse on the property and rushed over when she heard about the arrest.

After retrieving her horse and talking to the family, she said she doesn’t know what to think.

“My horse has always been safe,” she said. “I’ve known them since I was 17.”

The property is teaming with horses and other animals. There are rows of stables and many people board their horses there, as well.

“The unregulated slaughter of horses and uninspected meat presented a real safety and food issue that puts lives in jeopardy and our community at risk,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement.

The USDA tested the meat purchased from Coto-Martinez and performed species testing on it. The result was positive for equine, or horse meat.

Police investigators noted the packaging of the frozen meat was “not clearly stamped, marked and described as horse meat for human consumption” and the horse meat was “not acquired from a licensed slaughterhouse.”

There is no facility in the U.S. that is licensed to slaughter horses for human consumption.

Coto-Martinez was charged with three felony counts including unlawful sale of horse meat. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison for each count.