The ‘roast duck’ entrée that patrons of a Chinese restaurant had been ordering may have been something quite else, according to the results of a raid.
After receiving several complaints, police conducted a raid on Jin Gu, which is in Madrid, Spain’s capital, in the Usera district, at the end of March.
After the police raid, they shut down the eatery for violating multiple health codes.
Police discovered goods like meat and fish without labels and a kitchen infested with cockroaches. One Madrid Municipal Police officer even made a remark about the foul odor.
“Everything smelled of rotten seafood; it was almost unbearable,” they told El Mundo, a local news station. They discovered more than that, though.
Police discovered plucked pigeons, and according to El Mundo, employees were ‘kicking them to death’ after removing the birds from the streets.
In addition, it was stated that eight freezers had unlabeled goods that were untraceable because no sell-by date was visible.
Additionally, the fire extinguishers were not stored properly; they did not reach the minimum height allowed for their placement, and trash cans were obstructing the emergency doors.
Additionally, it lacked thermometers to measure and track the temperature in its storage facilities, which is required by law in Spain.
And that’s exactly what they discovered in the building’s known areas.
Police also found a “secret room” behind a shelf in the accessible restroom that was not part of the plan, with up to 300 kg of bad food stored in rusted freezers.
Officers discovered rat traps baited with meat, a grease-covered fan, and meat strips drying on a clothesline.
The restaurant was eventually forced to close as a result of this revelation, and the owner of Jin Gu is currently under investigation for possible offenses against consumer rights, public health, and animal cruelty.
Locals say they have repeatedly reported the business to the authorities.
According to one resident, “None of us ate there,” the Spanish outlet reported. “It smelled bad, and we saw food brought in on a cart and left at the door in broad daylight.”
Although one reviewer remarked on how bony the “roast duck” was, the restaurant’s 4.2-star rating on Google may surprise some.
“The duck I think is a little dry and lots of bones, not that tasty,” they posted five years ago.