It is hard to believe that the picturesque Romanian village of Homocea with its vibrant yellow, pink and sky-blue houses and situated at the base of the Carpathian Mountains is probably best known for the illegal trade in horse meat.
In 2010, it was here the authorities uncovered a scheme by a four-member gang through which large numbers of horses were slaughtered and the meat sold as beef to supermarkets in the capital, Bucharest.
The four were each given three-year suspended sentences in 2012, so avoiding custody and are now free. They were not, however, convicted for false labelling, but because of tax fraud. It is of little surprise then that in the wake of the latest horse meat scandal the local Ziarul de Vrancea newspaper asked if the meat originated in Homocea.
Like much of the rest of Europe, Romanians are not particularly fond of horse meat, which is cheaper than beef. Homocea, which is located in Vrancea County, has a long history of slaughtering animals illegally. Romanians often made the journey here during the tough years of need before the eventual fall of communism to buy pork, beef and mutton on the black market from local farmers.
It seems this tradition still exists today as evidenced by the regular arrests of people running illegal abattoirs, Ziarul de Vrancea journalist Gabriel Sava said. One horse meat gang has even been discovered at the other end of the country in the western region of Alba, the clearest indication yet that this mafia now operates on a national level.
The government, consumer protection agencies and the companies enveloped by the ever-growing scandal claim that only legally certified horse meat was used for export. CarmOlimp is one of two Romanian companies suspected by France of supplying horse meat labelled as beef to local firms Spanghero and Comigel that subsequently ended up in British supermarkets.
The company has vehemently denied the French allegations, calling them "disgraceful" and stating that it has no contract with either firm, did not export any beef in 2012 and that no horse meat slaughtered in its abattoir was subsequently labelled as beef. Horse meat only makes up 1 per cent of the company's turnover, but CarmOlimp did export 60 tons of properly labelled and documented horse meat last year to the Netherlands and Bulgaria.
Horses are only slaughtered after orders have been placed and the animals are sourced from farmers who sell them because they need the money. CarmOlimp spokeswoman Loredana Albu said the company belongs to the family of the country's deputy agriculture minister, Valentin Soneriu, who joined the government only in January.
Romania exports 10-12 million euros (13-16 million dollars) worth of horse meat each year, with most of it going to Italy. The figure for the first eight months of 2012 was 8.5 million euros, a nine-per-cent increase on exports for the same period in 2011, according to the Agriculture Department. The number of horses in the country has decreased significantly in recent years, dropping by about 200,000 between 2008 and September 2012 to now stand at approximately 600,000.
The equine industry in the Moldavia region as a whole is well regulated: All 14,910 horses there are registered and have been tagged in the ear with an electronic tracking chip, says Doru Calistru, deputy chief of the National Sanitary Veterinary Authority (ANSV), in the regional capital Focsani. Only four horses were slaughtered in his area last year and they were cremated because they were ill, he claims. Journalist Sava does not agree with the rosy picture painted by Calistru.
"The gangs are very well organised," he says. Justice works poorly here. The authorities only have limited success as the ringleaders use scapegoats such as disabled people and children who are difficult to prosecute in court, while they continue to wield the slaughtering knife for illegal gain.