Kent puppy farmers jailed after pocketing £500,000 from selling sick dogs to unsuspecting neighbours

Gang members who pocketed £500,000 from a puppy farm have been thrown behind bars.

An investigation by the RSPCA and Kent Police uncovered a farm where sick puppies were being sold to unsuspecting members of the public. Five people were arrested and pleaded guilty to their crimes at Woolwich Crown Court.

The court heard that the RSPCA was contacted by numerous concerned people who had bought puppies from the group. In some cases, the puppies had been poorly with parvo virus - a highly contagious and often fatal illness - and had died within days of being taken to their new home.

The RSPCA investigated and, during a warrant with Kent Police in September 2021, searched two properties in Beechwood Gardens - where 30 dogs were removed - and one in Longfield Road.

At both Beechwood Gardens properties, a number of dogs were found in poor conditions, described by a vet as "dark and smelly", where light and heat lamps weren’t turned on, pens were soiled with urine and faeces and no food available. Three puppies needed urgent veterinary attention.

RSPCA inspector Vikki Dawe, part of the charity’s special operations unit, said: "These dogs were all being kept in horrible conditions with very poor care which did not remotely reflect the expectations of buyers who saw the adverts placed for them.

"The defendants conspired together to acquire and sell puppies through advertising them in such a way as to entice the potential purchaser into coming to see the puppy, where they inevitably want to purchase it regardless of any warning bells.

"They advertised the puppies under different aliases and as a 'private' seller, making it appear as if the puppy had been bred from a family pet and not from somewhere unknown or farmed. The puppies were then sold from the defendants' home addresses and buyers were told that they had been bred from the family pet and were being sold from family homes."

Wally David Beaney, 39 from Beechwood Gardens, Meopham, Kent was sentenced to four and a half years immediate custody and a ten year-ban on keeping dogs after pleading guilty to four section 4 offences under Animal Welfare Act 2006, as well as one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud under the Criminal Law Act 1977. He was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.

Louise Smith, 63 from Beechwood Gardens, Meopham, Kent was sentenced to two years and four months custody, and disqualified from keeping dogs for five years after pleading guilty to one section 4 offence under Animal Welfare Act 2006, as well as one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud under the Criminal Law Act 1977. She was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.

Maria Smith, 35 from Beechwood Gardens, Meopham, Kent was sentenced to two years and four months custody, and disqualified from keeping dogs for five years, after pleading guilty to two section 9 offences under Animal Welfare Act 2006, as well as one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud under the Criminal Law Act 1977. She was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.

Charlotte Lauren Byron, 36 from Longfield Road, Meopham was sentenced to two years and three months custody after pleading guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud under the Criminal Law Act 1977. She was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.

Debbie Lorraine Lampard, 60 from High View, Vigo, Kent was sentenced to an 18 month conditional discharge, after pleading guilty to selling puppies without a licence under section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. She was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £26.