Two villagers in southeast Fujian Province hired by a town government to properly dispose of sick and dead pigs have been arrested for allegedly selling tons of bad meat in several provinces, yesterday's Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported.
A 44-year-old woman surnamed Lin and a 33-year-old colleague surnamed Wu are said to have sold 40 tons of pork for more than 3 million yuan (US$487,500) over a three-month period.
An initial police investigation showed the meat was mainly sold to processing factories in provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Hunan but some was served to diners in restaurants.
The pair had been hired by the Jiaomei Town government to collect sick and dead pigs and ensure their proper disposal.
But the newspaper said Lin saw a business opportunity and began to sell the meat last August. Wu took note of her rising income and decided to join the enterprise, the paper said.
It is claimed they set up a 6-ton freezer unit and picked up pigs dumped at the roadside as well as buying sick animals. They established a slaughterhouse and hired three butchers.
Lin and Wu were caught on March 15 after police received a tip-off while making a delivery.
Their freezer contained 25 tons of pigs and there were another 7 tons in their truck, police said. All the carcasses tested positive for highly-contagious diseases, the paper reported.
A freezer supervisor surnamed Xie was also arrested. Lin, Wu and Xi face charges of producing food in violation of safety standards.
Police are searching for the three butchers.
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