Horse arrested as part of smuggling ring
Macedonian police have arrested a horse they believe was being used by a crime ring to smuggle air conditioners from Serbia.
Border police in the Balkan republic spotted the horse and its carriage on the evening of January in the Maljocka Korija area, near the village of Sopot.
Realizing there was no driver, they captured the animal and took it to the nearest police station.
Police found nine air conditioners and other technical equipment worth several thousand euros, hidden in the carriage.
The police have not said whether they will press charges against the horse, which is being kept at the police station.
Last year a wild bear was found guilty of stealing honey and destroying beehives that belonged to a Macedonian farmer, but because it belonged to a protected species, the fine had to be paid by the state.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.