Colombian veterinarian who implanted heroin in puppies gets sentenced
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - This 2005 photo provided by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials shows puppies rescued from a farm in Colombia destined for use by a U.S. veterinarian working for a Colombian drug trafficking ring. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration via AP, File)
A Colombian veterinarian who turned puppies into drug mules was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison, highlighting the lengths drug traffickers will go to transport their product.
In a Brooklyn, N.Y., federal courtroom, Andres Lopez Elorez was sentenced on charges of conspiracy to import heroin. The case against him began in 2005 when he was busted after Colombian police raided his farm in Medellin, Colombia, and found 10 bags of liquid heroin implanted in nine dogs and another seven bags intended to be used in additional surgeries. The heroin was intended to be shipped to New York City.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Every dog has its day,” said Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue. “And with today’s sentence, Elorez has been held responsible for the reprehensible use of his veterinary skills.”
Andres Lopez Elorez (DEA)
Three dogs died after contracting a virus from the operations. Several others found new homes. The case against Elorez, 39, stalled after he fled to Spain before his 2015 arrest there. He said his mentor, a veterinarian professor in Colombia, convinced him to traffic drugs, a period he referred to as “a dark chapter in my life.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“At 21, when he [Elorez] met the professor he was enamored with this guy,” Elorez’s lawyer, Mitchell Dinnerstein, told the New York Daily News.
Elorez has already served over three years in jail in Spain and New York, which will count toward his sentence. He will be deported to either Spain, where his family lives, or Colombia after serving his time.