By Amanda Batchelor as published on Local10.c0m
Manuel Coto-Martinez faces up to 10 years in prison
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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 70-year-old man is facing prison time if he is convicted of illegally selling horse meat, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced on Friday.
An undercover investigation conducted by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Miami-Dade police and the U.S. Department of Agriculture led to the arrest of Manuel Coto-Martinez this week.
He is charged with unlawful sale of horse meat and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
“The collaboration between my office, MDPD and the USDA has been essential in the first successful infiltration at this level, into the extremely close-knit and secretive world of an illegal horse meat operation in Miami-Dade County,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “This unregulated slaughter of horses and uninspected meat presents a real safety and food security issue that puts lives in jeopardy and our agricultural community at risk.”
Authorities said a confidential informant told them about the illegal business and directed authorities to two locations in Miami-Dade County where the meat was being sold, including at Coto-Martinez’s home in the 13200 block of Northwest 182nd Street.
Prosecutors said an undercover detective bought 20 pounds of horse meat from Coto-Martinez on Nov. 10 for $140.
According to an arrest warrant, Coto-Martinez also sold meat to the detective on Sept. 8, and his wife sold horse meat to the detective on Oct. 13 because her husband was not home.
Authorities said the detective told Coto-Martinez that the meat was for an anemic child, because it is common belief by many horse meat buyers that it can cure or aid in treating anemia and other conditions.
The USDA tested the meat purchased by the detective and it tested positive for horse meat, prosecutors said.
Local 10 News reporter Hatzel Vela was outside Coto-Martinez’s home Friday when Cecilia Frau showed up to pick up the horse that she boards at the five-acre property.
“Never, never would I have thought that he was selling horse meat. I mean, that’s horrible,” she said.
According to the USDA, there is no facility in the U.S. that is currently licensed to slaughter horses for consumption.
Coto-Martinez faces up to five years in prison on each felony count if he is convicted.
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Nothing surprises me anymore what the perfect humans get up to anymore
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No surprise here either! I am hopeful that they are cracking down more on this – by the way – horsemeat supposed to be GOOD for anemia??? Wasnt bute said to be causing some form of anemia from people eating horsemeat – assuming any horses in Fl. probably would have ingested it at some time in their lives?
Different subject, but watching the weather in SD & ND – are the horses at ISPMB ok during this snowstorm – not seeing much about it again.
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For those of you who do not know, this type of illegal slaughter is rife in southern Florida, where Cuban exiles operate clandestinely, killing not just horses, but all sorts of animals, under the most cruel, brutal, dirty conditions. There are provisions made for voodoo practitioners buyers, restaurants, and those with backward belief systems about the therapeutic value of eating horsemeat for various human health issues.
This organization does some amazing work getting undercover, with police oversight, and raiding some of these awful outfits, and saving the animals seized afterward— http://www.animalrecoverymission.org/
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http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/alleged-ms13-members-in-el-salvador-caught-selling-illicit-horse-mea This is about Dangerous Gangs selling horsemeat. Please lets Not Allow Horse Slaughter in USA legally again. Organized Crime (mob) sold it in High class Chicago Resteraunts in the 60s and were busted diplaying it as beef. The inspector was threatened so then modern day gangs with serious Criminal ties in Various Countries as well as the Blackmarket crimes in Florida are a terrifying reality for newcomers who IS really pushing Horse slaughter. The Criminals behind Horsemeat have No interests in saving any animals from starvation its a front provided by Dave Duquette and otherz who are attempting to give is a face of wholesome goodness. The truth is its not and the Real Faces of horse slaughter are tiedto corruption and deastation hidden horsemeat and dangerous chemicals. You know I hate to say my theory but if people mysteriously fall ill with no trace of how its big money for medical industry and big pharma. We can not allow theseblackmarket sales to continue let alone the Legalized torture of horses.
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This coto martinez, was probably the man that was stealing peoples pets out of their corrals and pens, I hope they mmake sure to count all the felonies, and give this goon coto martinez a long prison sentence as I’ll bet he was the culprit that was stealing live pets from peoples property. I offer coto martinez “A Fee Pass to Hell”
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