Post by DJ DRAGN on Feb 2, 2006 5:58:44 GMT -5
Heartless international heroin smugglers turned cute puppies into drug mules - cutting open their bellies and stuffing them with packets of liquid smack, authorities revealed yesterday.
Cops in Colombia rescued 10 Labrador puppies - literal drug Labs - at a filthy, makeshift veterinary clinic where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of heroin was surgically stitched into the cuddly couriers, who were being readied for trips to the U.S.
The dramatic animal rescue led to a year-long international probe that ended with the arrests of 10 Colombian nationals in New York, Florida and North Carolina, according to court papers unsealed yesterday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
"They utilized a wide range of smuggling, the most repulsive of which was the use of puppies," said Drug Enforcement Administration special agent-in-charge John Gilbride.
"I think it's outrageous and heinous that they would use innocent puppies this way," he added.
The reputed veterinarian who cruelly subjected the purebred pups to his cutting knife, identified as Andres Lopez Elorez, is believed to be a fugitive in Spain, said sources familiar with the case.
It is not known whether Elorez received any formal veterinary training, the sources added.
A tipster led Colombian national police to a farm in Medellin, where they found the lovable black and brown puppies living in squalor.
Six of the dogs had been implanted with 3 kilograms of liquid heroin - contained in plastic packets resembling intravenous bags - surgically hidden just under the skin, Gilbride said.
Three of the dogs died a short time later due to infections, apparently as a result of the surgery. The seven surviving canines are "alive and well," Gilbride reported.
Investigators believed heroin-carrying Labs were part of a scheme to smuggle smack into New York, for distribution along the East Coast.
The druglords also dispatched human couriers, who ingested heroin packets to New York and Miami as part of the multimillion-dollar ring, officials said.
Agents also seized heroin concealed in aerosol cans, body creams and sewn into the lining of purses and luggage.
One law enforcement official recalled a smuggling case several years ago involving a dog made to swallow narcotics, but the surgical method appears to be unique.
Customs and border patrol agents throughout the country have been alerted to the puppy-smuggling scheme.
"There have been cases of animal cruelty that have led to the discovery of drug labs, but not to the extent of an animal being used to carry drugs, especially a puppy," said ASPCA spokeswoman Jo Sullivan.
Cops in Colombia rescued 10 Labrador puppies - literal drug Labs - at a filthy, makeshift veterinary clinic where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of heroin was surgically stitched into the cuddly couriers, who were being readied for trips to the U.S.
The dramatic animal rescue led to a year-long international probe that ended with the arrests of 10 Colombian nationals in New York, Florida and North Carolina, according to court papers unsealed yesterday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
"They utilized a wide range of smuggling, the most repulsive of which was the use of puppies," said Drug Enforcement Administration special agent-in-charge John Gilbride.
"I think it's outrageous and heinous that they would use innocent puppies this way," he added.
The reputed veterinarian who cruelly subjected the purebred pups to his cutting knife, identified as Andres Lopez Elorez, is believed to be a fugitive in Spain, said sources familiar with the case.
It is not known whether Elorez received any formal veterinary training, the sources added.
A tipster led Colombian national police to a farm in Medellin, where they found the lovable black and brown puppies living in squalor.
Six of the dogs had been implanted with 3 kilograms of liquid heroin - contained in plastic packets resembling intravenous bags - surgically hidden just under the skin, Gilbride said.
Three of the dogs died a short time later due to infections, apparently as a result of the surgery. The seven surviving canines are "alive and well," Gilbride reported.
Investigators believed heroin-carrying Labs were part of a scheme to smuggle smack into New York, for distribution along the East Coast.
The druglords also dispatched human couriers, who ingested heroin packets to New York and Miami as part of the multimillion-dollar ring, officials said.
Agents also seized heroin concealed in aerosol cans, body creams and sewn into the lining of purses and luggage.
One law enforcement official recalled a smuggling case several years ago involving a dog made to swallow narcotics, but the surgical method appears to be unique.
Customs and border patrol agents throughout the country have been alerted to the puppy-smuggling scheme.
"There have been cases of animal cruelty that have led to the discovery of drug labs, but not to the extent of an animal being used to carry drugs, especially a puppy," said ASPCA spokeswoman Jo Sullivan.
