HomeNewsBriefBolivia Seizes Thousands Of Contraband Caimans
BRIEF

Bolivia Seizes Thousands Of Contraband Caimans

BOLIVIA / 22 APR 2013 BY MIRIAM WELLS EN

Bolivian police have seized 5,000 baby caimans and 500 skins ready to be smuggled to Brazil, evidence of the regional trade in contraband wildlife.

The reptiles were found on trucks traveling from San Matias, a town on the border with Brazil, and were on their way to be sold in the southeastern town of Santa Cruz, reported The Associated Press. Baby crocodiles are popular for sale as exotic pets and for their meat, said the agency, while Prensa Libre reported the skins had a value of $18,000 and were destined to be made into shoes in Brazil. 

Authorities believe eco-traffickers are making millions of dollars from the illegal wildlife trade in Bolivia, said Prensa Libre, estimating that more than 60,700 animals of 119 different species have smuggled out of the country during the last five years.

InSight Crime Analysis

The trade in reptile skins for shoes and handbags is thought to be responsible for around 85 percent of the world's crocodilians becoming endangered species. The UN estimates that between 1.1 million and 1.8 million crocodilian skins were traded each year between 1999 and 2008. 

A large proportion of that trade is legal, governed under the long-standing Convention For International Trade in Endangered Species. However the illegal trade in wildlife is huge, with estimates of annual global profits ranging between $20 billion and $70.5 billion annually. As well as being killed for fashion items and alternative medicine products, thousands of animals are sold as exotic pets, with China and the United States the largest markets.

It's a particularly lucrative business in South America, home to some of the most bio-diverse countries on the planet. More than 46,000 illegally captured animals were captured in Colombia in 2012. Animal traffickers share routes with drug traffickers, according to a 2009 report by Reuters. Santa Cruz, where the caimans were reportedly going, has become a hub for regional trafficking and criminal activity in recent years.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARGENTINA / 12 SEP 2022

Synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl, and ecstasy are reshaping Latin America's drug trade.

BRAZIL / 13 JAN 2022

Three shipments of cocaine were caught on the same day as they were about to head to France, Spain and…

BRAZIL / 14 FEB 2023

Police in Ceará, Brazil, have been detained for alleged connections to organized crime in alarming numbers.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…