Retired RUC officers to help fight FMD
Senior RUC officers are being called out of early retirement to help with the fight against foot and mouth disease in the North.
The recently retired officers are being drafted in to deal with the illegal cattle smuggling trade, uncovered by the foot and mouth crisis.
The Ministry of Agriculture in Belfast has recruited the officers on short term contracts to boost their investigation into livestock fraud and smuggling.
The extent of the illegal trade was only discovered in the wake of the foot and mouth crisis.
The officers include former fraud squad members and those who investigated terrorist crime.
Most took early retirement as part of the Patten proposals to reduce the size of the RUC under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
