A lawyer has been apprehended at an airport after trying to send 12 live stingrays by plane.
Naiane Pimentel de Melo was stopped by tax inspectors and police officers at the airport cargo terminal on Thursday night (4 April).
They ordered her to open the three styrofoam boxes she was trying to send.
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Inside, they were stunned to find the live stingrays, each inside a plastic bag with a small amount of water.
De Melo told the officials in Manaus, Brazil, that the creatures belong to a species found in the Amazon Basin.
She claimed they’re allowed to be transported, but according to Brazil’s environmental protection agency, Ibama, the species is endangered.
Officials seized the stingrays and took them from Manaus International Airport to the local Ibama headquarters.
They were released from a beach into the Rio Negro – a tributary of the Amazon River – on Friday afternoon (5 April).
“We managed to determine that these stingrays were destined for São Paulo,” Victor Motta, of the Federal Police, told local media.
“But that doesn’t mean they were necessarily going to stay in that city.
“In fact, there’s already an investigative lead suggesting the possibility of international trafficking of these animals.”
The police say De Melo owns an animal transport and trade company, as reported on Need To Know.
Since 2022, she’s allegedly sent more than 200 shipments with a total weight of more than eight tons.
The police will now investigate if she was transporting endangered wildlife and who the buyers are.
De Melo attended a custody hearing on Friday and was released on bail after paying 14,000 BRL (£2,200).
She’ll respond to charges of fraudulent misrepresentation, bio-piracy, animal cruelty, and illegal exportation, according to local media.
