A lawyer was busted at an airport in Brazil while attempting to ship out 12 live stingrays that had been extracted from the Amazon basin.
Naiane Pimentel was stopped at the cargo terminal at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus on Thursday night and attempted to avoid detection by telling law enforcement agents that she was dropping off a shipment of three Styrofoam containers with Tucunaré fish, which is native to the Amazon, and fare less rare.
However, Pimentel raised suspicions when she showed a document 'with distorted information about the cargo,' the Federal Police said in a statement.
The agents then opened the boxes and discovered that the attorney had 12 wild and endangered stingrays - which can go for as high as $1,200.
The stingrays were destined for the southeastern city of São Paulo, where they would be sold at pet stores that specialized in animals kept in aquariums.
Cops at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, confiscated 12 live stingrays from a lawyer, identified as Naiane Pimentel, while searching cargo she declared as Tucunaré fish.
The 12 live stingrays were kept separately in plastic bags containing water and newspaper pages and stored in three Styrofoam boxes that were being shipped from Manaus to São Paulo
The Federal Police said that lawyer Naiane Pimentel, who was arrested Thursday and released on bail Friday, had previously made 200 shipments since 2022. The deliveries had a total weight of 8 tons
It's unknown how the lawyer obtained the 12 maritime animals.
Each of the stingrays, which are considered endangered, were kept inside plastic bags with water and newspaper pages.
The stingrays were removed from the airport and transported to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewal Resources headquarters in Manaus and released at a beach in Rio Negro on Friday.
Manaus Federal Police chief Victor Motta told reporters it appeared that the stingrays were not going to remain in São Paulo.
'In fact, there is already an investigative line indicating that there is possible international trafficking of these animals,' Motta said, as quoted by Brazilian news outlet G1.
Federal law enforcement agents seized three Styrofoam boxes containing 12 live stingrays that were being shipped by a lawyer from Manaus to São Paulo, where they were going to be distributed to stores that specialize in animals that are kept in aquariums
The Brazilian Federal Police is investigating whether the stingrays were going to be shipped out of the country
It's unclear how much she hoped to earn from each stingray
The stingrays were removed from the airport and transported to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewal Resources headquarters in Manaus and released at a beach in Rio Negro on Friday
Pimentel, who is accused of using falsified information and committing environmental crimes, was released on a 14,000 Brazilian reals (about $2,776) bail bond Thursday.
Aside from practicing law, she also owns an animal transport and trade company. Her agency processed more than 200 shipments since 2022.
Those deliveries, the federal police said, amounted to more than 8 tons, almost equaling the exact weight of a stingray cargo.
Investigators are now looking into whether Pimentel used her company to export the stingrays and are looking who was making the purchases.
'We are going to investigate this entire animal trafficking network, delve deeper into the origin of this animal, where it is being taken from and identify other recipients,' Motta said.
