If not for a perfectly timed tip-off, a 24-year-old man from Durham would now be thousands of pounds richer at the expense of 40 innocent border collie and beagle puppies.
Members of the public suspected that something was wrong when they saw the said man loading up the pups to the back of a van in Charlton Kings, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. Turns out their hunch was true. Upon receiving the tip-off, the Gloucestershire police together with the West Mercia Police acted quickly to nail the culprit.
The guy must have thought he had gotten away with it but unbeknown to him, his van was being tracked. The police intercepted him on the M6 motorway where he was immediately arrested. The pups were then taken to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) for a check-up.
Speaking about the matter, a Gloucestershire police spokesman said, “A man is in custody on suspicion of the theft of puppies thanks to a call from a member of the public who reported suspicious activity. Police were called to Beeches Road in Charlton Kings on Saturday following reports that a man was seen to have been loading a number of puppies into a van. Officers conducted inquiries into the vehicle before liaising with colleagues at West Mercia Police”
Detective Constable Dave Wise of the West Mercia Police confirmed the story through a tweet. He posted a picture of the rescued dogs along with the caption, these are the stolen pups Gloucestershire Police, West Mercia Police and the RSPCA helped to rescue yesterday.
Images & Feature Image Source: CopThatCooks