COLOMBIA, Jan 30: A woman was arrested in Bogota airport after she attempted to smuggle 130 poisonous frogs native to the Choco region of western Colombia, usually found on the grounds of tropical rainforests.
The woman was arrested and authorities identified her as a Brazilian citizen who claimed that the frogs were a gift from a local community.
According to Bogota’s Secretary of Environment, Carolina Urrutia, the woman ‘packaged’ the colorful Harlequin frogs inside film containers while traveling to Sao Paulo via Panama.
“The Secretariat of Environment is proceeding to apply the sanction to this Brazilian citizen.
“These frogs are being evaluated to determine their health status by the Wildlife Center of the Secretariat of the Environment and based on this we will determine if they remain at the Wildlife Center for a while longer or if they are released back to their place of origin in JunÃn, Nariño,” she said in an interview.
The police have also confirmed the woman’s arrest ‘for the crime of wildlife tracking’ before she was handed over to the prosecutor’s office.
“These frogs are an endangered species that is highly sought in international markets.
“If anyone were found to have these frogs in possession, they will be fined 1,000 dollars each,” said Colombian Police Commander Juan Carlos Arevalo.
Harlequin frogs are venomous and can measure less than five centimeters and live in damp forests along the Pacific coast between Ecuador and Colombia, as well as in other countries in Central and South America.
In Colombia, animal trafficking is common due to it being one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, especially amphibians, small mammals and marine animals, including sharks. – TVS
