Shanghai police are investigating the sale of 70 tons of “out of date” New Zealand shrimp and crayfish through local wet markets.
Thus far, 7,000 of 10,400 boxes - worth CNY 3,000 (USD 462, EUR 404) per box – have been recovered. A suspected gang leader, named only as Shen in a police statement, and four accomplices appeared before a Shanghai court this week on charges of breaking local food safety laws and of defrauding consumers.
According to police, the main suspect had been contracted to dispose of the crayfish but instead sold them to seafood wholesale markets in the Pudong district of Shanghai as well as in two cities in the province of Jiangsu.
While eight others have been released, Shen and four accomplices await sentencing and have appeared in local media photos of the courtroom, with their faces blurred to conceal identities. The case has gotten significant attention in Shanghai, given it was prosecuted under China’s recently revised food safety law.
