THE boss of a North-East chicken factory where thousands of birds were found dead and dying owns a firm raided by police months earlier, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Fazal Kamal Dad runs the former Gibson poultry packing plant, in Cockfield, Teasdale, that was raided in a joint police immigration operation in November when they discovered the diseased birds.

Four months earlier, 30 tonnes of unfit meat had to be destroyed after a raid by 16 environmental health and trading standards officers at a meat supplier in Tower Hamlets, London, also owned by Mr Dad.

Although the Cockfield plant is not operational, residents are concerned that a new licence could be issued to the chicken farm.

The London raid was backed up 75 police officers and was the result of a seven-month surveillance operation. Three lorry loads of meat, including lamb's brains, goat meat, gizzards, poultry, pomos (cows' nostrils), smoked cattle hide and cows' feet were confiscated.

The raid, code-named Operation Lobster Pot, was the epicentre of 23 raids at premises in the UK and the Irish Republic involving more than 100 local officers.

Adrian Grieves, principal environmental health officer for Tower Hamlets Council, confirmed he had been liaising with trading standards officers in County Durham about the Cockfield poultry plant. He said: "Ever since Operation Lobster Pot we have been working on the legal work. There's an awful amount of evidence and paper but we hope to be able to put together a prosecution in the next couple of months."

It is believed the meat was intended for pet food, but was being purchased and repackaged for human consumption.

Officers at Durham County Council's trading standards confirmed they had been in contact with other authorities about the Cockfield poultry plant and its operators.

Steve Bilton, the divisional manager for animal health, said: "At the moment, there is the possibility of a prosecution and we have had contact with other authorities about this."

Neville Singleton, a Cockfield resident, said: "Everybody in the village is concerned about this.

"If anyone can grant them a licence with a record like that, then they don't have any credibility at all. It's time Teesdale council showed some concern about this."

No one at the company was available for comment last night.