The organization distributed the final product in the main capitals of the country, and also marketed it in America and Europe.
The National Police dismantled the organized crime network known as “Kambo”putting an end to a lucrative illegal business that generated more than $1.5 billion pesos a year through the exploitation and trafficking of wildlife.
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The operation, which left five catchesrevealed that the network allegedly tortured amazon frogs to extract its poison and sell it as a supposed curative treatment in Medellín, Bogotá and Cali.
The Directorate of Carabineros and Environmental Protection confirmed that those captured extracted the secretion of frogs of the genus Phyllomedusa —a species that inhabits the Amazon Rainforest— to turn it into poison tablets, known as “kambo”. This product was promoted without any medical support as a “healing alternative”.
The authorities warned about the serious health risksince it was established that several people apparently died after using the substance in clandestine rituals, facts that are being investigated. The organization distributed the final product in the main capitals of the country and also marketed it in America and Europe through contact networks.
The operation that stopped the activities of the Kambo group was carried out through simultaneous operations, including two raids and the seizure of phones used to coordinate shipments.
Those captured face charges for crimes such as illicit use of natural resources, illicit enrichment and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The authorities insisted on the high profitability of species trafficking in the country and requested citizen collaboration to report this type of activities.
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