Alex Trelinski
A RUSSIAN couple accused of trafficking exotic animals have been arrested in Mallorca.
The man, 48, and woman, 46, sold protected species internationally via social media including a panther with a price tag of €60,000.
They were detained at an Ariany finca with a third person- an Israeli man- still being investigated.
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Operation Kotach was launched in March 2024 to bring down the traffickers.
Guardia Civil officers from the Seprona environmental unit raided a home owned by the couple and discovered 19 felines in an outdoor caged area with no licenses to keep them.
They included servals which are small wild cats native to Africa and caravals which are a hybrid cross between a male caracal and a female serval.
Breeding took place on the plot with servals and caracals fetching up to €8,000 each while hybrids sold for up to €18,000.
The animals were taken to a temporary home at the Son Servera Safari Zoo with plans to permanently locate them to the mainland and the Primadomus rescue centre in Alicante province.
More than 40 animal passports, as well as two computers, three mobile phones and two memory sticks were seized.
Officers discovered the caracal and serval breedings was the mere tip of an iceberg of an international network trading in protected species which included white tigers, black leopards, pumas, and hyenas.
Animals that were often offered for sale were smuggled into the European Union from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine with breeders, carriers, and vets all involved in the plot.
The couple’ s social media accounts included listings for white tigers, clouded panthers, boreal lynxes, hyenas, black leopards and pumas.
A sum of €60,000 was requested for a cloudy panther.
The Guardia Civil said the couple’s social media sites were ‘extremely active’ with people from around the world interacting with them.
The Russians face animal abuse charges as well as smuggling, document forgery, and belonging to a criminal group.
