A court in Tampere has remanded into custody a local woman on suspicion of illegally importing dogs from Spain.
Pirkanmaa District Court ruled in the bail hearing on Tuesday.
The woman, who is in her late 40s, is suspected of aggravated animal protection violations and a variety of fraud charges, reports the daily Helsingin Sanomat.
Police say she and her male partner smuggled dozens of dogs from Spain to Finland, where they were sold. The man is believed to still be in Spain. The dogs were not properly treated or documented, police say.
“The importation of the dogs did not meet the requirements. Some of the animals were ill,” said Detective Superintendent Jari Kinnunen.
“The puppies brought to Finland were kept in improper conditions during their transport, and there were shortcomings in their import documentation and registrations,” he added.
Rare American Bully breed
The illicit sales are believed to have gone on since at least 2014. They came to police attention last year when a veterinarian filed a complaint. At that point the suspects went back to Spain, but the woman was then detained on her return to Finland.
The puppies were purported to be of the American Bully breed. This relatively new breed, derived from American Staffordshire Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers, is so far rare in Finland.
The story was reported first by Helsingin Sanomat.