TEMPO.CO, Milan - An Italian judge has ordered 49 suspected Latin American gang members to stand trial for allegedly using dogs to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Police say that a vet in Mexico forced large dogs to swallow packages of drugs before shipping them to Milan.On arrival, these dogs were killed and dismembered to retrieve the cocaine enraging animal rights activists across the globe.
The Ecuadorean, Peruvian and Salvadoran nationals will face trial in Italy. The suspected gang members, between 19 and 37 years old, are thought to be part of youth drug gangs known as "pandillas".
The drug trafficking operation was first uncovered in March, when 75 suspects were arrested. The gangs go under the names Trebol, Neta, Latin King Luzbel and Latin King Chicago, according to the investigative judge Fabrizio D'Arcangelo.
Mr D'Arcangelo told reporters the armed gangs were involved in several crimes in and around Milan.
BBC | CHOIRUL
