Brazilian woman is arrested in Colombia with 130 endangered frogs – 01/31/2024 – Environment

Colombian police arrested on Monday (29), at El Dorado International Airport, in Bogotá, a 37-year-old Brazilian woman who was carrying 130 frogs of the species in her luggage. Oophaga histrionica.

Popularly known as the arrowhead frog, the amphibian is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to the police, the woman, who was not identified, was boarding a flight to São Paulo, with a stop in Panama, and was arrested for the crime of wildlife trafficking. During the searches, the police found 130 bottles of photographic film camouflaged in a suitcase, where the frogs were.

At the time of seizure, the animals already showed symptoms of asphyxiation and were taken to a fauna center for recovery.

The species, poisonous, colorful and exotic in beauty, is desired on international markets by collectors who, according to the Colombian police, pay up to R$5,000 for each individual.

Arrowhead frogs measure less than 5 cm and inhabit the humid tropical forests of the Pacific region, between Ecuador and Colombia, as well as other countries in Central and South America.

The police reported that, after officials asked the woman for documentation relating to the transport of wildlife, she stated that it was a gift received from communities in the Nariño region, in the southwest of the country.

However, due to the quantity of specimens transported and the considerable damage to the ecosystem, the process of judicialization for the crime of wildlife trafficking was initiated.

_{(With information from AFP.)}