BERLIN (AP) — German police have seized cooked bats and nearly a ton of unrefrigerated fish after stopping a van that entered the country from Belgium, authorities said Wednesday.
A patrol stopped the vehicle Monday at a motorway exit outside the border city of Aachen and found the bats under the fish, federal police said. A veterinarian from the local consumer protection office went to the scene and ordered the seizure of the cargo. Police seized the van, which was not insured.
The driver, a 31-year-old Ivorian citizen, was facing a criminal complaint for traffic violations and unauthorized entry after entering the country without permits or a driving license, authorities said in a statement. In addition, an administrative process was opened against him for failing to comply with food hygiene regulations and the local authorities were investigating whether he violated the conservation regulations regarding bats.
An Aachen court on Tuesday ordered the driver to remain in custody pending his handover to authorities in Italy, where he is registered as a resident.
