Swiss police have rescued two dogs kidnapped for a ransom of more than £880,000.
The Bolonka dogs were taken from the home of a 59-year-old man in Schlieren near Zurich, while he was away, Zurich authorities said. When the owner returned home, he found a ransom note demanding £880,000 (1 million Swiss francs) for their return.
The distressed owner then contacted Zurich police, triggering an investigation and a week-long search.
A 30-year-old Norwegian suspect, believed to be involved in the kidnapping, was arrested at Zurich airport. A 38-year-old suspect was also detained with the help of Polish police.
The dogs were safely returned to their owners on Friday. The average price of Bolonkas, a toy breed originating in Russia, is between £1,200 and £2,300.
The 30-year-old remains in custody and Polish authorities are carrying out further investigations into the 38-year-old.
Neither suspect has been named and the investigation is ongoing.
It comes after a Norfolk couple was recently reunited with their beloved Labrador, stolen nearly 10 years ago.
Daisy was stolen from Rita and Philip Potter’s garden in November 2017. A tireless search followed, which included social media campaigns and a petition urging government action against pet theft, and finally reached its joyous conclusion thanks to the RSPCA.
Daisy, now 13, was discovered over 200 miles away in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, by an RSPCA inspector during routine investigations.