Mexico arrests 'hitman' for trafficking endangered fish
Mexico has arrested an alleged drug cartel hitman on charges of
trafficking the critically endangered totoaba fish, a species whose swim
bladder can fetch up to $20,000 on the black market in China.
The suspect, identified as Oscar N, alias "El Parra," was arrested
Thursday on charges of leading a top totoaba trafficking gang, said the
government of the northern state of Baja California.
The gang is believed to have ties to the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, the state authorities said in a statement.
El Parra is a "dangerous hitman and drug trafficker" who was also wanted on a homicide charge, it said.
The state sits on the Gulf of California, the native habitat for the totoaba.
Known as the "cocaine of the sea" for its lucrative price, the species
has been in steep decline since the 1940s, largely because of its
reputed healing powers in Chinese medicine.
In China, the totoaba's swim bladder is believed to have beautifying
properties and cure a host of ailments, from arthritis pain to
discomfort during pregnancy.
In fact, they are so prized that some Chinese simply display them in fancy cases in their homes.
The illegal fishing trade has turned increasingly violent in recent
years, and has also claimed a collateral victim: the nearly extinct
vaquita marina, the world's smallest porpoise, which can end up caught
in the nets used to fish for totoaba.
Researchers estimate there are less than 30 vaquitas left today.
To save the species, Mexico has banned fishing in a giant 1,800-square kilometer (700-square mile) area.
The move was backed by the likes of Hollywood heartthrob and
conservationist Leonardo DiCaprio and Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecoms
billionaire who is one of the world's richest people.
The government also tried to catch vaquitas with the aid of US
Navy-trained dolphins and breed them in a protected reserve. But the
program was aborted last year after a vaquita died in captivity.
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