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Canine couriers: drugs stitched inside puppies
January 5, 2005 - 10:59AM
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Colombian traffickers stitched heroin packets into the stomachs of six puppies in an apparent bid to smuggle the drugs into the United States, police said today.
Each of the puppies were found holding between one and two plastic packets containing some 400 liquid grams of heroin, said General Ruben Carillo, head of Medellin's metropolitan police.
"We think the dogs were going to be sent to the United States as family pets," Carillo told AFP.
The Labrador and Rottweiler puppies were found in an abandoned house in a rural area near Medellin, some 400 kms north-west of Bogota.
The dogs all had visible belly scars.
Police raided the house after receiving reports about strange movements involving dogs and loud barking and yelping.
"We didn't detect anything when we x-rayed the dogs, we then conducted an ultrasound scan which enabled us to find the (drug) packets in the abdomen," the general said.
Carillo said he had never seen drugs hidden in such a way. Police also found seven more drug packets ready to be implanted as well as surgical instruments.
Colombian traffickers have become more sophisticated in recent years in their smuggling efforts, hiding drugs in all sorts of everyday and seemingly innocent objects such as sweets, records, shoes and clothes.
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