Criminal gangs’ puppy scams get more complex

IT probably all started in someone’s back garden, when an accidental mating occurred between neighbour’s dogs, only for the owners to discover that the mongrel progeny were valuable commodities.

It snowballed from there, with unscrupulous and callous individuals obtaining, by hook or by crook, tens of breeding bitches and so puppy farming was started.

When the general public, many of whom do little or no research into a puppy purchase, were informed about the scam, and so became wary, the criminals got even craftier.

Instead of sickly puppies being delivered to car parks and front doors in an unmarked white van, groups were taken to residential housing estates, where plausible conmen and women claimed they had bred them. “Do sit down and have a cup of tea.”

They would say. “I am afraid the mum is out for a walk.” And don’t bother trying to phone their mobile number when the new puppy gets sick. It won’t be answered.

And then it was taken to a whole new level.

Criminal gangs realised that smuggling puppies was just as lucrative but not as dangerous as dealing in drugs, and so a new trade began with poor pooches arriving from East Europe in awful conditions.

There is compelling evidence too that vets in former eastern bloc countries are aiding and abetting gangsters by providing false passports.

In the UK, we have more confidence in the veterinary profession and in Kennel Club registration documents. Or at least we did.

In my time as a practising vet, I have seen counterfeit money (it started with £20 and progressed to £50 notes), counterfeit clients (they have multiple names and addresses so as to run up various unpaid bills), counterfeit drugs (recent NHS figures suggest 50 per cent of drugs purchased online are fake) but now it seems there have been counterfeit Kennel Club registrations.

This came to light in March when Norway based miniature dachshund breeder, Aage Solberg, discovered that 17 puppies had been wrongly registered with his Minstemann kennel pedigree.

It seems they originated in Belarus, but no one is sure.

What is certain, however, is that the false documents inflated their value and instilled confidence in the new owners.

To be fair, the Kennel Club has apologised for being duped, and has changed its procedures for imported dogs, but I leave the last words to Mr Solberg who said: “I don’t know why the Kennel Club doesn’t inform the police, because everything I’ve looked at shows this is organised crime.”