The case began in Gironde in 2021 on the basis of information from Oclaest targeting a young woman residing in Blanquefort suspected of illegally selling protected species. Months of surveillance carried out as part of a preliminary investigation opened by the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office, then a judicial investigation have enabled investigators to uncover large-scale trafficking and identify various protagonists.
Suppliers in Poland, Belgium and Spain
Very mobile, the young woman, suspected of being the organizer of the traffic located successively in Gironde, Montpellier then Toulouse, called herself “Queen of the jungle” on social networks where she offered servals, marmosets to individuals. , lynx and other macaws or Gabon grays. Each animal sold for several thousand euros.
Investigators have identified several suppliers in Poland, Belgium but also in Spain, on a farm near Alicante. The operator bred and reproduced protected animals, such as pumas or lynx, probably outside any regulatory framework. He is suspected of having flooded an underground market in France. He was also reportedly arrested Thursday by Spanish police in a joint operation.
Wild animals seized
The young Girondine was referred this Friday morning, at the end of her police custody, and presented to a Bordeaux investigating judge. She was indicted for “trafficking in non-domestic animals in an organized gang”. She was immediately remanded in custody. The other three people arrested are said to be relatives or members of his family.
