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Protected reptiles from around the world rescued by Guardia Civil

By John Smith • Published: 12 Nov 2020 • 11:47

A TOTAL of 300 rare and protected reptiles worth around €800,000 on the black market have been rescued by the Guardia Civil in a pan European and Europol operation with 21 people from two criminal groups arrested.

There continues to be a huge market for protected wildlife across the world even though the international CITES agreement restricts the capture and transportation of many different species.

The traffickers had a number of different ways of bypassing the law, with ‘mules’ transporting eggs across borders which were hatched and then used for breeding or use of fake documentation (supplied by ‘tame’ vets) which allowed the reptiles to be imported into Spain.

Incredibly, amongst the reptiles found was a Giant Tortoise (an endangered species found only on the Galapagos Islands and the Seychelles Islands of Aldabra and Fregate) which has a lifespan of up to 200 years.

In addition to the reptiles, the two groups responsible also possessed a number of old but working firearms which have been confiscated.

Weapons seized
Weapons seized included a sten gun
Credit: Guardia Civil

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Written by

John Smith

Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica. Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene. Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development. Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

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