Spanish police catch tortoise smuggling gang carrying rare animals worth more than £700,000

Briton among more than 20 people arrested over the smuggling

Tortoises seized by the Spanish police (Guardia Civil)

A British man was among 21 people arrested by Spanish police for smuggling protected tortoises and other reptiles worth €800,000 in suitcases.

The protected radiated and giant tortoises, which are both classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, were among 350 reptiles found in a series of raids across Spain.  

Police also found lizards and other reptiles which had been packed into suitcases and brought from Mexico, Asia, Africa and Oceania to sell in Europe.  

The raids come as Interpol and the United Nations said trafficking in protected species was the fourth most lucrative criminal enterprise after falsifying luxury goods, drug smuggling and people trafficking.  

The trade is worth up to $258 billion each year and is increasing at up to 7% annually.  

“These reptiles were brought into Spain from across the world as this country is a gateway for these animals to come to the European market,” Ana Prieto, of Seprona, a specialised unit of the Guardia Civil which combats trafficking in protected species, told The Independent.

“The people arrested were acting as mules – bringing the tortoises in for others who will either sell them on or breed them and later sell them.”

She said each tortoise would be worth €30,000 when sold on the black market in endangered species.  

Sergeant Prieto said trafficking in protected species was so lucrative because many governments only had lenient punishments for those involved in the illicit trade.  

She added: “To give you an example, a rhinoceros horn is worth way more than a kilogramme of cocaine. Interpol has said it is the fourth most lucrative after drug dealing and selling falsifying clothes and other luxuries, people smuggling or dealing in drugs.”  

During the Spanish operation, police discovered a gang of veterinarians who were providing false documentation to the smugglers so they could get the reptiles into Spain.  

Raids were carried out in Madrid, Murcia, Girona, Barcelona, A Coruña and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.  

Officers also discovered an arsenal of weapons dating from the Second World War.  

Those detained will face charges of environmental crimes, criminal association, falsification of documents and illegal introduction of microchips to the bodies of the reptiles. None of the suspects was named.  

The raids were carried out on October 23 but police made the operation public on Thursday as is normal practice in Spain.