A water bat approaching (symbolic photo) Photo: picture alliance
From BZ/dpa
How that must have smelled…
When inspecting a van near the Belgian border, the federal police in Aachen confiscated fried bats and almost a ton of unrefrigerated fish. A 31-year-old brought the goods from Belgium to Germany, the authority reported on Wednesday.
Fish and bats were confiscated by order of the competent veterinary office. In addition, according to the information, the federal police secured the transporter due to the lack of registration and the lack of insurance cover.
The driver, who was driving without identity papers and without a driver’s license, was charged with road traffic offenses and illegal entry. He was also awaiting administrative offense proceedings because of the various violations of the law against food hygiene, it said. The responsible office of the city region is also currently checking whether he has also violated the Species Protection Act because of the fried bats.
The accused was brought before the Aachen district court on Tuesday. A preventive detention was also decided here in order to return him to the Italian authorities, the federal authority reported. According to the police, the man is an Ivorian national.