Lions and tigers and drugs

Tracy Wilkinson reports:

The hippo and crocodiles were statues made of glass and cement. But the lions and tigers were real.

It was one of those odd things drug traffickers do. Like decorating their assault rifles with gold and diamonds.

When Mexican authorities raided a secluded mansion on the outskirts of the capital recently, they did more than capture 15 alleged traffickers. They also discovered a mini-menagerie in a faux-jungle complex of caves, pools and pagodas.

There were cages holding two African lions, two white tigers and two black jaguars. Very Noah-like. Each pair was a male and female. There was also a monkey, sans partner.

It was the third time in recent years that Mexican authorities have made such a find, and similar collections have been seen elsewhere. Notorious Colombian cocaine king Pablo Escobar maintained a 5,500-acre hacienda in his country with a zoo that housed giraffes and elephants, until he was shot to death by Colombian security forces in 1993.

Drug-trafficking bosses, some of them at least, like to surround themselves with exotic animals. They do it because they can, and because they like to show off. They do it, experts say, as a sign of their virility and bravado. It's a trophy, a status symbol.

Read more of "Lions and tigers and drugs" here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City