The Ecuadorian National Police arrested three Thai nationals on May 19, 2026, at the José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil on suspicion of wildlife trafficking.
They seized 12 marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), endemic to the Galápagos. The reptiles were found stuffed in handbags with their legs tightly bound. One was dead and those that survived had numbness in their limbs, the Ministry of Environment and Energy said in a social media post. The reptiles are now under specialized care.
All four species of endemic Galápagos iguanas, including marine iguanas, are protected under Ecuadorian laws and have the highest level of protections under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty. Both protections prohibit removing the iguanas from the wild or selling them.
“The illegal extraction and trade of Galápagos species poses a threat to one of Ecuador’s and the world’s most important natural heritage sites,” the Ministry of Environment and Energy said in a press release. It added the government is monitoring and coordinating efforts to “prevent and punish wildlife crimes.”
The operation was carried out by the national police, in coordination with the Environmental Authority, the Galápagos National Park Directorate and the Governing Council of the Galápagos Special Regime. Further investigations are ongoing.
In the last week, four separate cases of marine iguanas, discarded on sidewalks in Guayaquil, were also reported, indicating trafficking. That brings the total to 16 suspected smuggled iguanas in about a week.
Sandra Altherr, a co-founder of German NGO Pro Wildlife who has been monitoring the illegal trade in Galápagos iguanas for over a decade, told Mongabay this case shows “just how cruel wildlife trafficking is.” She added that “the buyers of such stolen animals are just as unscrupulous as the poachers.”
“The whole operation is firmly in the hands of an organised criminal network operating on a global scale,” Altherr said.
Traffickers have been caught in the past attempting to smuggle iguanas out of Ecuador. They are a prized possession for reptile collectors and private zoo owners and can fetch top dollar on the black market.
Uganda is the hub of international iguana trade. Traders there claim the reptiles are captive bred and can be legally traded. However, questions remain about the actual origin of those “captive-bred” animals.
Altherr said she found evidence that four marine iguanas were exported by a Ugandan company owned by a man with a history of international wildlife smuggling. The iguanas were sold to a private zoo owned by a billionaire in India.
“Ecuador has already done a fantastic job: it has placed its Galápagos iguanas under the highest possible level of global protection and has called on all other countries to stop authorising exports and imports,” Altherr said. She added import countries must “confiscate any animals found there and return them to Ecuador.”
Banner Image: The arrested individuals and seized iguanas Image courtesy of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Ecuador.
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