A virtual method to traffic wildlife and species at risk of extinction was discovered

• Via WhatsApp and in private groups, a network of traffickers sold mammals, birds, reptiles and primates, among other threatened species of the national biodiversity. 

• For the first time, the Office of the Attorney General and the National Police designated an undercover agent to bring to light this criminal phenomenon. 

After a joint investigative action of the Office of the Attorney General, through the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations, and the Directorate of Protection and Special Services of the National Police (Dirección de Protección y Servicios Especiales de la Policía Nacional DIPRO), the cruelty of a criminal business that threatens biodiversity and the sustainability of natural resources was shown. 

Native fauna and some exotic species were offered and sold via WhatsApp and transported by road to different cities in the country and abroad, as if they were common items of use and service. 

To reveal this illegal activity, the Office of the Attorney General and the Police designated for the first time an undercover agent. In a patient and discreet task, it was possible to be part of two private messaging groups, in which only recommended people were allowed to enter. 

‘Faunatic’ and ‘exotic Colombia’, as these chats were called, were made up of a maximum of 12 members. All of them were wildlife traffickers who under pseudonyms, sold tigrillos, ocelots, deer, owls, snakes, turtles, macaws, monkeys, small crocodiles and multiple species of national biodiversity, the great majority in danger of extinction. They also were able to promise to get alligators and other types of exotic reptiles. 

People interested had to pay a subscription per virtual transaction and the animals arrived by parcel in public buses. During the process, 14 sales and deliveries were carried out in Bogotá and Soledad (Atlántico). In these cases, the animals were rescued and were placed under the authority of the environmental institutions. 

The evidence, which included conversations and videos, made it possible to identify and arrest four of the alleged wildlife traffickers. The proceedings were carried out simultaneously in Bogotá and Cartagena. 

A prosecutor of the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations charged them with Illegal use of natural resources and damage to natural resources. Three of the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges. The arrested people are: 

• Rafael Cruz Romero, known as ‘Ojitos’ or ‘Emmanuel’. 

• Sebastián Bastos Peñaranda, ‘Sebas’ or ‘Andrés’. 

• Alfonso Mauricio Triana, ‘Miguel’. 

• Jeisson Humberto Triana, ‘Ángela’. 

The route to traffic species 

The investigation revealed that some of the traffickers contacted networks of hunters, who were in charge of extracting young species from the watershed named Depresión Momposina, between the departments of Bolívar, Cesar, Córdoba, Magdalena and Sucre, and other areas of the Atlantic Coast. 

After the fauna was offered in the WhatsApp groups, the animals were prepared. For example, birds had their wings clipped and mammals were gagged and tied. Later, they were hidden in boxes with holes to allow the species to breathe and, with the alleged connivance of some transporters, they were transported in public buses. Most of the shipments were to Barranquilla and Soledad (Atlántico), Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Cartagena. 

An irreparable damage 

The evidence shows that, in the WhatsApp groups, a small crocodile cost COP $ 100,000, a macaw COP$ 700,000, a marmoset COP$ 900,000 and wild cats and other mammals up to COP$ 1,300,000. These values ​​are risible in comparison to the enormous damage caused by trafficking wildlife.  

The environmental authorities and environmental NGOs that accompanied the investigation indicate that the hunted species, due to their young age, will not be able to return to their habitat. In addition, due to the physical modifications to which they were subjected, many are disabled for life. Moreover, a large percentage of commercial animals are at risk of extinction. 

With this result, the Office of the Attorney General reaffirms its commitment to prioritize environmental crimes and attack organizations that illegally profit from natural resources, as defined by the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, in the Strategic Direction 2020-2024. 

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest. 

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out the criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.