Jury to decide if businessman mixed horsemeat with beef
Andronicos Sideras allegedly mixed meats before they were sold on to other firms.
A jury has begun deliberations in the trial of a businessman accused of passing off horsemeat as beef.
Andronicos Sideras, 55, one of the owners of meat company and sausage manufacturer Dinos & Sons, allegedly mixed the meats before they were sold on to other firms.
Danish-owned company FlexiFoods would buy the meat from suppliers across Europe and have it delivered to Dinos in Tottenham, north London, it is alleged.
Sideras denies being part of the conspiracy and has told the jury at Inner London Crown Court he was only storing the product for FlexiFoods.
Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay previously told the court there is “no dispute” that the fraud was taking place, but that the jury must decide if Sideras was involved.
Sideras, of Southgate, north London, denies one count of conspiracy to defraud between January 1 and November 30 2012.
Ulrik Nielsen, 58, the owner of FlexiFoods, and his “right-hand man”, Alex Beech, 44, have already pleaded guilty to the same charge, the court has been told.
The jury was sent out at 11am on Tuesday to consider its verdict.
