Hong Kong police arrest three more in latest swoop linked to grisly pet-smuggling racket
- Police raid animal facilities in Kowloon and New Territories during operation targeting those illegally transporting animals
- Probe took a dark turn last week when crates of dead cats and dogs found washed up on Hong Kong beaches
Hong Kong police have made three more arrests as part of their probe into a suspected smuggling racket with possible links to the carcasses of 15 dogs and cats found washed up on beaches and reports from dozens of mainland China pet owners of dead or missing animal companions.
The pet owners had entrusted agents to ship their animals from overseas to the mainland via the entrepot of Hong Kong after completing studies or postings abroad.
A man and two women, aged 44 to 56, were detained on Monday when officers from police, customs, the animal welfare authority and a charity raided an animal hotel, PetPet360, in Mong Kok and two village flats in Yuen Long which might have provided pet care, the Post has learned. No animals were seized.
The latest arrests came after authorities swooped on Pet Oasis in Tuen Mun on Friday and detained a 29-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man, while removing 22 pet dogs and 26 cats. Pet Oasis and PetPet360 have denied any involvement in smuggling activities.
Police arrested the five suspects on suspicion of animal cruelty and conspiracy to smuggle.
The animals at Pet Oasis were thought to belong to mainland owners who on their return home engaged the services of transport agents – who say they run legal businesses – to retrieve their pets from abroad.