Police rescue 60 puppies packed in crate

(ANSA) - Novara, January 26 - Some 60 puppies of various breeds were rescued by police Monday after they stopped a van from Slovakia packed with the animals on a major freeway near Novara in northwestern Italy.
    The dogs were packed into crates stacked one on top of the other and were likely destined for illegal sale in Italy, police said.
    The van was stopped after police received a complaint from the Italian Movement for the Protection of Animals and Wolves (EITAL).
    The organization said it suspected a Slovak and an Italian were involved in the illegal import and trafficking of dogs as well as animal abuse.
    Novara is not far from Italy's borders with Switzerland and France.
    One week ago, prosecutors in the northeastern city of Udine placed eight suspected pet traffickers under investigation for animal abuse, abuse of the veterinary profession, fraud and forgery, sources said.
    As well, forest rangers seized animals, assets and real estate from two dog breeders and a pet store in the area of Udine, which is located 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Slovenian border.
    Prosecutors say the suspects trafficked expensive purebred puppies into Italy from Eastern European countries, forging their papers and tricking buyers into thinking they had been locally bred.
    That came after a one-year investigation that included surveillance and tailing of suspects, the sources said.