Gilbert man charged for possessing Bengal tigers

After nearly a year-long investigation, a Gilbert man who kept a pair of Bengal tigers in Valley backyards was charged with possessing prohibited wildlife, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Game and Fish investigators said they received a tip in late December 2013 that Fahad Zeshawn Rafi, 34, was in possession of two Bengal tigers and found one orange tiger leashed in the backyard of a Phoenix residence and another tethered in the backyard of Rafi's Gilbert residence.

According to an incident report, Rafi told officials that he bought the tigers from a breeder in Wisconsin for $8,000 each and received them on Dec. 27, 2013.

Officials confiscated the two tigers and transferred them to the Out of Africa Wildlife Park, according to a statement from the Game and Fish Department.

Tigers and other carnivores are illegal to possess in Arizona without special permits.

A spokeswomen for Game and Fish said the primary reason the investigation took so long was because Rafi refused to cooperate, including not communicating with officials and giving inaccurate addresses.

"We're surprised he even showed up to court," Game and Fish spokeswomen Amy Burnett said.

Rafi is charged with possession of restricted live wildlife, a misdemeanor; along with forgery and the sale or trade of restricted wildlife, both felonies.

The final home of the tigers will be determined at the conclusion of the case against Rafi, Burnett said.