Three men arrested in horsemeat scandal

(AP) — British police say three men have been arrested by officers investigating the burgeoning horsemeat scandal in Europe.

Police in Wales said Thursday's arrests on suspicion of fraud offenses occurred at two plants that were inspected earlier this week by the UK's Food Standards Agency.

Police said two men — ages 64 and 42 — were arrested at Farmbox Meats near Aberystwyth, in Wales, while a 63-year-old man was arrested at the Peter Boddy Slaughterhouse in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.

The Food Standards Agency on Tuesday had "detained" all meat on the premises and seized paperwork and customer lists from the two plants.

Pan-European police agency Europol is coordinating a continent-wide fraud investigation amid allegations of an international criminal conspiracy to substitute horse for more expensive beef.