Photo Credit: Europol
September 11, 2026
By Eurasia Review
Key Takeaways:
Europol backed a Belgian-led operation on 8–9 September 2026 against a suspected network that moved horses across Europe with forged passports and altered microchips so their past and identity were hidden.
About 200 officers ran 24 searches in Belgium, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands, checking more than 1,000 horses. Some animals may have been resold under false IDs or sent to slaughter despite not being meant for food.
The probe is ongoing. Europol coordinated data-sharing and used food-fraud expertise from Operation OPSON because of the possible food-chain risk.
Europol has supported a major operation against a criminal network suspected of trafficking horses across Europe using falsified documents and manipulated microchips to conceal the animals’ true identities.
Between 8 and 9 September 2026, nearly 200 officers and representatives of different authorities took part in the operation across Belgium, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
At the centre of this investigation led by Belgium is a suspected large-scale trade in horses whose identities and histories were allegedly manipulated to allow them to be moved and resold across Europe. Some of the animals may ultimately have been diverted into the food chain without their true origin and history being known.
This undermines the traceability systems designed to protect animal welfare and food safety and could result in horses not intended for human consumption being illegally sent for slaughter.
Giving horses new identities
Investigators suspect that forged horse passports and manipulated microchips were used to effectively give animals new identities. This allowed the suspects to obscure where the horses had come from, their previous history and whether they were eligible to enter the food chain.
Investigators are now working to establish the final destination of the animals. Horses are suspected of having been fraudulently resold under falsified identities, while others may have been diverted into the food chain.
Nearly 200 officers deployed across Europe
The coordinated operation, led by Belgium, saw authorities carry out 24 searches:
4 in Belgium (East Flanders and Brabant)
6 in Ireland (counties of Galway, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Kildare, Dublin, Donegal)
7 in France (Gard, Saône-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Gironde, Haute-Saône)
7 in the Netherlands (Limburg, South Holland, North Brabant, Utrecht, Zeeland)
More than 1 000 horses were checked. Evidence seized during the searches is now being analysed. The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities in the participating countries working to identify further individuals potentially involved in the criminal network.
Europol supported the investigation, facilitating information exchange between the countries involved and providing operational coordination and analytical support.
Given the suspected link to the food chain, Europol also brought in expertise developed through Operation OPSON, which focuses on the trafficking of counterfeit and substandard food and beverages.
On the action days, Europol deployed experts to Belgium and Ireland to support the national authorities with the cross-checking of operational information against Europol’s databases and facilitate real-time information exchange between the participating countries.
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