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A lawyer was arrested at a Brazilian airport while trying to ship 12 live stingrays taken from the Amazon basin.
Naiane Pimentel was detained at the cargo terminal at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus on Thursday night and attempted to avoid detection by telling law enforcement officials that she was dropping off a shipment of three Styrofoam containers containing tucunaré fish, native to the Amazon. and they are less rare.
However, Pimentel raised suspicions by showing a document ‘with distorted information about the shipment,’ the Federal Police said in a statement.
Agents then opened the boxes and discovered that the lawyer had 12 wild and endangered stingrays, which can cost up to $1,200.
The stingrays were destined for the southeastern city of São Paulo, where they would be sold in pet stores specializing in animals kept in aquariums.
Police at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, confiscated 12 live stingrays from a lawyer, identified as Naiane Pimentel, while searching a shipment she declared as Tucunaré fish.
The 12 live rays were kept separate in plastic bags containing water and newspaper pages and stored in three Styrofoam boxes that were shipped from Manaus to São Paulo.
The Federal Police said that lawyer Naiane Pimentel, arrested on Thursday and released on bail on Friday, had previously made 200 shipments since 2022. The deliveries had a total weight of 8 tons.
It is unknown how the lawyer obtained the 12 marine animals.
Each of the stingrays, which are considered endangered, were kept inside plastic bags with water and newspaper pages.
The manta rays were removed from the airport and transported to the headquarters of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Resources in Manaus and released on a beach in Rio Negro on Friday.
Manaus Federal Police Chief Victor Motta told reporters that it looked like the stingrays were not going to stay in São Paulo.
“In fact, there is already a line of investigation that indicates that there is possible international trafficking of these animals,” said Motta, quoted by Brazilian media G1.
Federal agents seized three polystyrene boxes containing 12 live stingrays that a lawyer was transporting from Manaus to São Paulo, where they would be distributed in establishments specialized in animals raised in aquariums.
The Federal Police of Brazil investigates whether the manta rays were going to be sent out of the country
It’s unclear how much he expected to earn from each stripe.
The manta rays were removed from the airport and transported to the headquarters of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Resources in Manaus and released on a beach in Rio Negro on Friday.
Pimentel, accused of using falsified information and committing environmental crimes, was released on Thursday after paying bail of 14,000 Brazilian reals (about $2,776).
In addition to practicing law, she also owns an animal trading and transportation company. Her agency processed more than 200 submissions since 2022.
Those deliveries, federal police said, amounted to more than 8 tons, almost equaling the exact weight of a shipment of stingrays.
Investigators are now looking into whether Pimentel used his company to export the rays and who made the purchases.
“We are going to investigate this entire animal trafficking network, delve into the origin of this animal, where it is taken from and identify other recipients,” said Motta.