Inside the world of organised crime and extreme dog breeding

Organised transgression is moving into the lucrative marketplace of utmost canine breeding, a BBC probe has found.

Bulldogs, including the caller American Bully breed, are being bred with hugely exaggerated characteristics - specified arsenic excessive tegument folds oregon large, muscular frames.

The RSPCA warns criminals are breeding and selling these dogs to launder wealth and marque immense sums, often astatine the disbursal of carnal welfare.

Reporter Sam Poling went undercover to analyse the utmost canine breeding trade.

I'm shocked erstwhile my telephone pings with a connection from the Facebook relationship of Thomas Rayment - a convicted region lines cause trader I cognize to beryllium successful prison.

"Hi. Is it a antheral oregon pistillate you are wanting. We person immoderate pups available."

For months, I'd been utilizing a mendacious name, pretending to beryllium bulldog-loving businessman Stefan Delaney, hanging retired successful Facebook groups dedicated to bulldogs and American bullies.

My extremity was to find retired who the main players were successful the satellite of utmost canine breeding.

Now it looked similar it was opening to wage off.

Rayment has been successful situation since 2021, serving six years for moving a prolific region lines drugs gang, supplying heroin and ace cocaine to the northbound of England.

But could helium truly beryllium brokering canine deals from down bars?

Rayment claims to tally the UK limb of a large planetary canine breeding concern called Muscletone Bullys UK. He's often tagged successful posts by different salient figures successful the American Bully network.

From his Facebook relationship I'm sent photos of 2 utmost American bullies - Brandon Blockhead and Kleo - who person conscionable had a litter of puppies.

"This boned-up Gorilla is nary gag he's utmost arsenic they come," reads the statement of Brandon Blockhead connected Rayment's website. He has "one of the champion headpieces we person ever seen each connected a ace abbreviated compact frame".

The tops of his ears person been chopped disconnected - an amerciable signifier successful the UK called receptor cropping.

The punishment for doing this tin beryllium up to 5 years successful situation for causing suffering to an animal. It's a signifier I spot clip and clip again during my months of investigating.

Reporter Sam Poling goes undercover to uncover the progressively adjacent narration betwixt organised transgression and canine dealing.

In the past 3 years, much than 1,000 incidents of amerciable receptor cropping person been reported to the RSPCA. Some dealers bash the cropping themselves, without utilizing anaesthetic connected the dogs. Most cases impact American bullies.

This benignant of utmost canine breeding is large business. On the Muscletone Bullys UK website, pups are connected merchantability for tens of thousands of pounds.

After immoderate backmost and distant with Rayment's account, I yet person the connection to my fake Facebook illustration that I've been desperately waiting for. My change ego Stefan Delaney is invited to a gathering successful Wigan to sermon a deal.

My program is to airs arsenic Stefan's woman and accidental he's moving late.

I get astatine the address. It's a canine fertility clinic. A antheral lets maine successful and shows maine around. He's called Ryan Howard. He tells maine he's Rayment's concern partner.

I feign disorder astir Rayment and that's erstwhile Howard breaks the news.

"Tom's not present due to the fact that he's successful jail," helium tells me.

"I don't archer everybody but you batch cognize who helium is truthful I'm not going to prevarication to you. You person been speaking to Tommy."

Howard tells maine helium has astir 120 dogs successful his concern but helium lone looks aft 15 of them.

The different dogs are housed done a web of what's known arsenic "co-owns".

In a co-own, a trader gets idiosyncratic other to location the dog. That idiosyncratic past gets paid a percent from the merchantability of immoderate pups.

It means the trader tin person a monolithic web of dogs which they tin proceed to nett from without the authorities having immoderate thought however galore they have.

In a connection to the BBC, Muscletone Bullys UK said:

"We are well-known for breeding the highest prime utmost American bullies without compromising the dogs' wellness oregon well-being. Thomas Rayment does not pass with anyone illegally and has others moving his socials. We bash not condone oregon instrumentality portion successful amerciable receptor cropping."

The connection added that the concern has "never co-owned a canine arsenic a deliberate ploy to… flight the scrutiny of the licensing authorities."

Ian Muttitt, a main inspector with the RSPCA's Special Operations Unit, says implicit the past 5 years organised transgression gangs person go progressively progressive successful the utmost canine breeding trade.

But what is the entreaty of canine dealing to criminals? First, helium says, it's lucrative. Second, it's utile for wealth laundering.

"It's thing wherever amerciable wealth has been obtained. So drugs, firearms, different organised crime.

"It tin past beryllium laundered done the merchantability of these dogs oregon vice versa."

The ineligible risks are besides acold little serious. Muttitt explains that dealing drugs, for example, carries overmuch higher penalties than carnal cruelty offences.

I logout of Stefan Delaney's fake Facebook illustration 1 past time. It's wide the web I've uncovered is not lone huge, but sophisticated. That's going to marque cleaning up this commercialized precise hard for the authorities arsenic profit-driven dealers proceed to enactment wealthiness implicit wellness astatine each costs.

Panorama: Dogs, Dealers and Organised Crime is broadcast connected BBC One connected 23 January astatine 20:00 and connected the iPlayer (UK only).