Three suspects in lioness case referred to prosecution

Dubai: Three men on Monday were referred to the Public Prosecution on charges of endangering the lives of others and breaking laws and regulations in connection with a lioness which escaped from a house in Al Barsha last week.

Colonel Yousuf Al Adedi, director of Al Barsha police station, said a third man, a middleman who facilitated the transaction between the owner of the lioness and the seller, was also arrested and questioned.

“We have finished our investigation and all the three men were transferred to the public prosecution,” he said.

The middleman is an Arab country, and the two other suspects involved are the owner of the animal, a GCC national, and the seller, who is a GCC national.

Col Al Adedi declined to provide details when asked how the lioness was imported into the country.

The one-year-old lioness, which is currently at Dubai Zoo, had escaped from its owner’s home in Al Barsha 2 on Thursday evening and was caught by patrols from Al Barsha police station around 7pm.

No one was hurt in the incident.

The owner had bought the lioness about three months ago.

Col Al Adedi had said earlier that it is illegal to own wild animals, except under certain rules, which include having a permit and keeping the animal in a secure and isolated area.