Four men to appear before Kilkenny District Court linked to a variety of offences

Four men are to appear before Kilkenny District Court as part of an ongoing multi-agency investigation.

They were arrested and charged with a variety of offences related to organised deception and fraudulent practices involving the tampering of identification passports and microchips of horses presented for slaughter in the jurisdiction.

The foursome comprises two men aged in their fifties, another in his forties while the fourth is aged in his thirties.

Their arrests follow a three year joint investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).