From South America to Asia, seahorses vanish into trafficking pipeline

From South America to Asia, seahorses vanish into trafficking pipeline

In June 2025, Ecuadorian police were summoned to the municipal bus terminal in Tulcán, in the northern province of Carchi, to investigate a suspicious package. Someone had reported a strong odor coming from a parcel that was shipped by bus from Guayaquil. Inside, police discovered its grisly contents: 2,970 dead seahorses. Authorities suspect they were en route to Colombia and then onward to Southeast Asia, headed into the illegal wildlife trade…