Published on the Instagram page of BitocaraECU today (below) / VISTAZO 

The trafficking of Galápagos’ unique wildlife does not stop. In addition to the four iguanas found near the Guayaquil Airport last week, 12 more marine iguanas were seized today, one of them dead, at the Guayaquil Airport. According to reports, three Thai citizens were detained when they attempted to take four iguanas each in their personal backpacks while boarding a KLM flight destined for Amsterdam and then Bangkok. Police reported that the three detainees had arrived in Guayaquil from Baltra earlier today, coming from the Galápagos National Park and Ecological Airport area.

The Ecuadorian Police, together with the National Unit for the Investigation of Environmental and Nature Crimes (UNIDCAN) and the Environmental Protection Unit (UPA), carried out the operation after customs inspections and airport security controls revealed the iguanas hidden inside black cloth bags in the backpacks. Upon opening the bags, officials discovered the animals and initiated legal proceedings with the Prosecutor’s Office, with the assistance of an interpreter.

It is evident that the 16 marine iguanas found in Guayaquil are not isolated incidents. We are facing an active international wildlife trafficking route that is bypassing controls in Galápagos, Baltra, and Guayaquil, and that authorities are failing to contain. The questions remain: How many marine and land iguanas have already been successfully smuggled out? How many tortoises?

Mr. Minister of the Environment Juan Carlos Bion, this is happening while you remain focused on promoting the country abroad and organizing workshops, while leaving park rangers without the tools and resources needed for patrols throughout the country. If this can happen in Galápagos, with its most protected species, what can be expected in mainland Ecuador?

CNH Tours invites its readers to reading other stories of wildlife trafficking:

Giant Tortoise Heist is Foiled

Tortoise thief placed in preventive detention

Smuggling of Marine Iguanas Thwarted by K-9 Corps

German Iguana Smuggler Gets 4 Years!

 

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