Overview
- Operation Suartx by the Guardia Civil’s Seprona led to a raid in Burgohondo, with the seized collection valued at €85,000.
- Four people are under investigation on suspected offenses including wildlife crimes, contraband, fraud, document forgery and membership of a criminal group.
- Specimens included leopard, spur‑thighed and Mediterranean tortoises, iguanas, geckos, tarantulas and a Nile monitor, all without legal documentation or traceability.
- Many animals arrived through irregular transfers from provinces including Madrid, Badajoz, Ciudad Real, Valencia, Toledo, Huesca, Zaragoza and Seville, after the probe began in 2023 from social‑media leads.
- The facility operated without municipal licenses, authorities documented roughly 200 earlier deaths among the collection, and case files have been sent to Ávila courts with support from CITES, Tragsatec and ministry environmental agents.