Colombian vet tries to smuggle heroin by sewing bags of the drug into puppies’ bellies
New York attorney Richard Donoghue said: 'Dogs are man's best friend and, as the defendant is about to learn, we are drug dealers' worst enemy'
A VET sewed packets of liquid heroin into puppies’ bellies to smuggle the drug, prosecutors claim.
Colombian Andres Elorez, 38, is charged with conspiring to import and distribute heroin in the US. He has pleaded not guilty but could face a life jail term if convicted.
New York attorney Richard Donoghue said Elorez “betrayed a vet’s pledge to prevent animal suffering when he used his surgical skills in a cruel scheme”.
He added: "Dogs are man's best friend and, as the defendant is about to learn, we are drug dealers' worst enemy.
"He betrayed a veterinarian's pledge to prevent animal suffering when he used his surgical skills in a cruel scheme to smuggle heroin in the abdomens of puppies."
Elorez is suspected of taking part in the conspiracy to bring drugs into the country more than a decade ago, prosecutors said.
Arrested in Spain, Elorez was extradited to the United States.