Dozens of dogs rescued and suspect arrested in Uganda after BBC investigation

A BBC investigation exposed how scammers posted social content of dogs in distress to dupe donors into giving money. Mityana dog scam: Dozens of dogs rescued and suspect arrested in Uganda after BBC investigation Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Russet was treated by a vet after being injured and used in fraudulent campaigns to raise money A sandy-coloured dog looks at the camera. A chequered blue blanket is covering some of his body. Dozens of dogs rescued and suspect arrested in Uganda after BBC investigation Dozens of dogs kept in sham animal shelters and used for online scamming have been rescued by police and animal rights organisations in Uganda following a BBC investigation. A suspect has been arrested after two adjacent shelters were raided by the police. Two other suspects are said to be at large, according to animal rights activists. Owen Godfrey Membe has pleaded not guilty to a charge of animal cruelty and has been remanded in custody until 27 May. Membe is accused of "killing an animal in an unnecessarily cruel manner" under Uganda's Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act. Membe's dogs and those belonging to a nearby operation remain at the raided shelters, but are now in the care of the Animal Welfare Alliance Uganda, a network of local and international activists aiming to tackle organised animal exploitation. The organisation, which includes qualified veterinarians, said it had secured land where an emergency shelter is being set up to receive the dogs. The case against Membe has been brought as a private prosecution by the Animal Justice Center, a Uganda-based organisation, with funding from We Won't Be Scammed, a UK-based group which uses online vigilante tactics to expose sham rescue shelters in Uganda. We Won't Be Scammed said it was working to receive the dogs from the raided shelters in its existing partner facilities in Uganda. The arrest and rescue follow the publication of a BBC investigation exposing how scammers in Mityana, posting social content of dogs in distress, have been tricking international donors out of hundreds of thousands of pounds. A head shot of a sandy-coloured dog looking at the camera. A chequered blue blanket is covering some of his body. BBC uncovers the scammers exploiting dogs to elicit donations from animal lovers Undercover filming by the BBC showed that instead of benefitting the dogs, many content creators spent money on funding their own luxury lifestyles. The investigation also revealed there have been instances of dogs being intentionally harmed for content. The BBC uncovered the case of Russet, a dog with severe leg injuries who was posted across dozens of social media accounts, together with requests for funding for his treatment. The BBC investigation traced the story of Russet from the shelters in Mityana to a veterinary clinic in the country's capital Kampala, where a veterinary surgeon who operated on the dog assessed his legs injuries might have been intentionally inflicted. Russet did not survive. "This case is the first arrest after the world has seen how this scam has developed into an online content creator's scamming business," said Bart Kakooza, vice-chairperson of the Animal Welfare Alliance Uganda. "The entire world is now watching to see how Uganda will bring these cases to justice and how these animals will be given a new chance at life lived without cruelty." A young mixed race woman looks at herself in a mirror - she is wearing a black zip-up top and has braided long hair 'They told me he was dead': Children born near army base learn truth about UK soldier dads A young girl is being cuddled by a woman in a red top. They are outside and both smiling. 'I adore her now': Mother learns to live with child's autism in a country with little help Foday Musa, who has a white goatee, looks solemn. He wears a yellow and black top and white and black knitted skull cap and behind him is a window with blue painted frames. My children were recruited in a trafficking scam. I joined a police hunt to find them A head and shoulders image of farmer Marthinus. He is wearing a blue puffer jacket and a blue shirt and white vest can be seen underneath it. White South Africans divided on US refugee offer A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News Africa Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Yoweri Museveni, 81, won disputed elections in January to extend his 40-year rule. A fan club in the African state record themselves singing a Sky Blues club anthem. Unwitting donors hand over money to save suffering animals but Ugandan con artists pocket the cash. Police search for the dog's owner after the victim sustained a leg bite during a run in Redditch. The actor was recognised for his contributions to entertainment as well as his humanitarian efforts. The foreign minister says the "distressed" Ghanaians registered with the embassy in Pretoria to be evacuated. The Thin Blue Paw charity is raising funds to cover treatment for German Shepherds Miki and Kenai. Two friends pedal in memory of a brother and return to a spot visited by a grandparent in 1963.