The Guardia Civil and the local police in Sanlúcar la Mayor, a town near Seville, have detained a woman suspected of animal abuse and rescued a total of 28 dogs found confined in cages that contained their own waste, were infested with parasites, malnourished, and living in severe unsanitary conditions. The individual is also under investigation for alleged mass fraud.
The authorities stated in a press release that these actions are part of Operation Alxaraf Freecan, which began in 2022 following multiple citizen reports about a strong odor emanating from a plot on the outskirts of Sanlúcar la Mayor.
When officers located the site and reached the area indicated by the informants, they discovered a large number of dogs living in deplorable circumstances on the property.
Subsequently, a joint inquiry with the Sanlúcar la Mayor Local Police allowed initial access to the plot. Inside, authorities described seeing dogs of various breeds, including potentially dangerous ones, all living in extreme unsanitary conditions.
Enclosed and Dirty
[–>] The animals were found kept in small cages amid their own waste, covered in parasites, undernourished, and lacking basic hygiene. In some cases, two dogs were housed in a single cage, severely limiting their movement. The inspection also uncovered bone fragments that appeared to be linked to cannibalism, according to the Guardia Civil.
After the search, officers rescued and relocated all 28 dogs and detained a woman who was identified as the person responsible for the animal mistreatment. The court handling the case issued a precautionary order prohibiting the detainee from owning or caring for any animals.
Fraud Allegation
[–>] In a second phase of the investigation, authorities noted a social media campaign soliciting financial help for the animals, using images of dogs in good condition sourced from the internet to solicit donations from across Spain and even from other European countries such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Once money was received, it was transferred to other accounts controlled by the detainee to avoid raising suspicion. An analysis of the association’s bank accounts found approximately 180,000 euros misappropriated from more than a hundred donors.
Following the collection of these findings, the Guardia Civil arrested the individual in July of the same year for mass fraud, a crime defined by the large number of victims and the significant amount involved, thereby concluding a two-year-long investigation.
Social media pages and fundraising platforms used to receive donations were shut down by court order, and all accounts linked to the association were frozen and immobilized.
The operation was carried out through the joint efforts of the Guardia Civil and the Local Police of Sanlúcar la Mayor, in close coordination with the Courts of First Instance and Instruction numbers 1 and 4 of Sanlúcar la Mayor.