Woman arrested at airport in Colombia with 130 endangered poisonous frogs worth $130,000
A Brazilian woman was arrested at an airport in Bogota, Colombia, on Monday for attempting to smuggle 130 poisonous dart frogs out of the country, officials said.
The woman was flying out of El Dorado International Airport on her way to São Paulo, Brazil, via Panama when she was detained by authorities, Colombia's environment ministry said in a news release.
After searching her luggage, authorities found the poisonous frogs hidden in film canisters.
"This endangered species is sought after in international markets," Bogota Police Commander Juan Carlos Arevalo said, according to AFP. Arevalo added that private collectors might pay up to $1,000 for each, AFP reported.
The frogs, which were found to be dehydrated and in a state of distress, came from Nariño, a state in western Colombia. The woman claimed they had been given to her as a gift by a local community, Adriana Soto, secretary of the environment, said in the news release.
The woman will be prosecuted for the illegal use of natural resources, which carries penalties of between 5-12 months in prison and fines up to 56 billion pesos (about $14.2 million).
The endangered tiny frogs, native to Central and South American rainforests, are known as "the jewels of the rainforest," according to the San Diego Zoo.
They can be found in an array of color combinations, including red and black, yellow and green, orange and silver, blue and yellow, green and black, and pink and silver. Their bright colors serve to warn predators of their toxic skin — eating the frogs can cause swelling, muscle paralysis, and even death.
They're called poison dart frogs because the Chocó people of western Colombia use the poison to coat the tips of blow darts they use for hunting, the San Diego Zoo says. A tiny drop can kill birds and small mammals.
