One of the many things that characterize drug traffickers is their desire to own exotic animals, some keep them in their homes or ranches, others even create clandestine zoos, such as the one recently discovered after an operation in Ocoyoacac, State of Mexico, which allowed ensure 27 exotic species that were in illegal captivityas well as the arrest of 40 people, including three minors. This place is linked to Sinaloa Cartel.
The events resulted from the detention of two police officers in an animal care center located in San Pedro Cholula, Ocoyoacac, under the name “Resica.”
Said center supposedly rescued circus animals; At the site, eight lions, two white tigers, three wolves, two baboons, a baby monkey, a buffalo, four raccoons, two meerkats, a xoloitzcuintle, a coyote, two panthers and, in addition, a stuffed baby jaguar were found.
This large-scale operation provoked some deterrent shots, although no one was injured. Among those detained is Francisco “N”, alias “The Tiger”alleged leader of the criminal group called “Los Palacios”, linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, according to media such as the newspaper Debate.
In addition to the exotic animals, 356 cartridges of different calibers, a riot gear with the legend “Police”, three shotguns, two tactical vests, a laptop and a DVR monitor for property surveillance were seized.
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA) will be in charge of investigating the origin of the insured exotic animals; In addition, their health status will be evaluated in specialized veterinary centers.
The investigations carried out by the governor of the State of Mexico, Delfina Gómez, indicate that “Resica”, in addition to serving as a clandestine refuge, also served as an operational base for illicit activities related to the trafficking of exotic fauna.
animal trafficking
Mexico, Guatemala and Belize are the countries where the greatest illegal trafficking of exotic species takes place, since their territory is very rich in fauna and flora, which is also trafficked. The destination of the majority of the animals victims of this illicit activity are the “narcozoological”.
The possession of exotic species by drug traffickers has given them a “status”, which dates back to the time of Pablo Escobar.
For David Saucedo, a Mexican public security specialist, the Mexican cartels copied the idea of private zoos by Medellin Cartelsince it was a requirement to have one to be part of the select circle of wholesale drug traffickers, as he told El Informador.
The drug trafficker Pablo Escobar introduced elephants, felines and several giraffes to Colombia, who failed to adapt to the new habitat and died, but four hippos got out of control and, by 2023, there were 170, which caused them to be declared an “invasive species.” , causing the sacrifice of some.
The president of the Association of Zoos of Mexico, Ernesto Zazueta, offered to take 85 hippos to other parts of the world: 60 to India, 15 to the Philippines and 10 to a private reserve in Culiacán, Sinaloa, which was questioned by the government Colombian, since the Mexican state where the reserve is located is the birthplace of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Keep reading:
– Colombian court orders to end Pablo Escobar’s hippopotamus colony.
– “El Nini” showed off on social networks his Bengal tigers with which he disappeared people.