Vet‑turned‑Drug Convict Gets Six Years Behind Bars
In a twist that would make any veterinary medical examiner’s head spin, Andrew Lopez Elorez, 39, has been sentenced to six years in prison for smuggling heroin into the U.S. by covertly implanting the drug in puppies on a Colombian farm.
How the Scheme Unfolded
- Between 2004 and 2005, Elorez leased a farm in Medellín, Colombia, where he raised dogs and secretly fused liquid heroin into nine puppies.
- During a 2005 raid, authorities confiscated 17 bags of liquid heroin—about 3 kg in total—10 of which were extracted directly from those puppies.
- Three puppies tragically died after contracting a virus following the invasive surgeries.
- Elorez was a fugitive until his 2015 arrest in Spain, after which he was extradited to the U.S. and pled guilty in September.
Legal Fallout
Brooklyn federal prosecutors will deport Elorez to Colombia upon completion of his sentence, concluding the far‑cunning plot to funnel narcotics across borders.
“Every dog has its day,” noted US Attorney Richard Donoghue of the Eastern District of New York. “Elorez abused his veterinary expertise to hide heroin in puppies—a truly reprehensible act that demonstrates the extent of his criminal scheme.”
