An Ancaster man has been fined $6,250 for running a slaughterhouse without a licence, the province announced Tuesday.

According to a news release, investigators started looking into a property in the city last August after getting complaints about suspected animal slaughter and distribution from the premises.

Police and the Agriculture Investigations Unit raided the facility on Aug. 21, and found about 40 people involved in the slaughter of about 30 sheep, the province says.

"The meat was being transported off the property by these individuals," a news release reads. "The defendant admitted to not having a licence to operate a slaughter plant, and no inspector … had performed any ante mortem or post mortem inspections."

The province says Abdalssamia Ali was convicted on May 22, and fined $5,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $1,250.