- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Murcia Today Alicante Today
Date Published: 24/02/2023
ARCHIVED - VIDEO: Smell of hashish alerts Malaga police to drug operation and illegal reptile breeding farm
20 bearded dragons in "precarious" conditions were discovered at the property in the Las Chapas district of Malaga city
National Police in Malaga inadvertently uncovered an illegal reptile breeding farm in Malaga city after smelling hashish in the vicinity of a commercial property and carrying out a search.
At around 6.45pm on February 20 officers were carrying out a routine patrol in the Las Chapas neighbourhood when they noticed the strong and distinctive odour emanating from a shop in Calle Francisco Rueda Pérez.
Suspicious, they went inside the shop and found two men smoking cannabis. In a second room, they discovered "numerous reptiles" in what appeared to be a breeding farm.
The officers requested assistance from the Nature Protection Group (Grupona) of Malaga Local Police of Malaga, who, on arrival, jointly continued with the inspection of the premises.
The reptiles were kept in a room of about three square metres.
According to a police statement, there were 20 bearded dragon specimens - Pogona vitticeps - of different sexes, phases, sizes and ages, kept in 18 plastic boxes.
The lizards were being fed with live insects, using 20-watt electric blankets placed under the boxes and 50-watt light bulbs, in an attempt to keep them at a suitable temperature, "all with a precarious installation in terms of safety and stability, which caused a clear risk to the animals and could have lead to their escape".
When the two men were questioned, they were unable to provide any kind of documentation relating to the purchase of the lizards.
In addition to the infraction of laws determined by the Andalusian Regional Government, police discovered a large quantity of hashish ready for sale, scales and cash.
All of the reptiles were removed and the drugs seized. The two men, agd 26 and 31, have been charged with a crime against public health for drug trafficking and official reports denouncing the reptile breeding farm have been sent to the Andalusian Regional Government's Departments of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue and Administrative Simplification and Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy.
Images: Policia Nacional/Policia Local Malaga
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