Vet ‘stitched liquid heroin’ into live puppies to smuggle it across border

A vet used his surgical skills to stitch liquid heroin into the stomachs of live puppies in order to smuggle it across the border, a court heard. Andres Lopez Elorza, 38, is currently in custody in New York accused of implanting the drug for a Colombian trafficking ring.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) charged Elorza with conspiring to import and distribute heroin into the US in court on Tuesday. As he was remanded in custody by Judge Marilyn Go, US attorney Richard Donoghue told the court: ‘As alleged in the indictment, Elorza is not only a drug trafficker, he also betrayed a veterinarian’s pledge to pevent animal suffering when he used his surgical skills in a cruel scheme to smuggle heroin in the abdomens of puppies.’ Advertisement if(window.adverts) { adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_mobile_top"}) } Advertisement if(window.adverts) { adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet"}) } ‘Dogs are mans’ best friend and, as the defendant is about to learn, we are drug dealers’ worst enemy.’ Venezuelan Elorza was arrested in Spain in 2015 but extradited to the US on Monday. US Marshals were spotted escorting the vet to a black car after he arrived at JFK Airport in New York in a green hoodie that covered his handcuffs.

After his arrival, DEA Special Agent-in-charge James Hunt said that ‘over time, drug organisations’ unquenchable thirst for progit leads them to do unthinkable crimes like using innocent puppies for drug concealment.’ His indictment report alleges that Elorza was involved in the drug trafficking ring between September 2004 and January 2005, during which time he stitched packets of heroin into the bellies of Labrador retrievers that were sent on commercial flights to New York. Officials said the packets were then cut out of the puppies, who died in the process from infections caused by the incisions. Elorza, 38, was arrested in June 2015, 10 years after police raided his clinic in Medellin, Colombia. During the raid, they discovered ten dogs, three of them with three kilograms of heroin implanted inside them. The married father-of-two then fled to Spain, where he lived for eight years and worked as a vet for two companies.

In May 2015, he went into hiding in the northwestern town of Santa Comba, after the National Court in the USA authorized his extradition so he could face drugs charges. He was arrested a month later. Authorities said the gang had plans to pretend the puppies were show dogs to get them past customs inspectors in America.  The seven surviving dogs that were discovered by officials were adopted by other owners in Colombia.

Metro.