Galapagos iguanas found in suitcase, Ecuador says

Ecuadoran police arrested a Russian woman accused of trying to smuggle 32 rare iguanas from the Galapagos archipelago, authorities said Saturday.

Police said the woman, who was travelling to Iceland, was arrested at Quito airport on Friday after officers found the iguanas hidden in eight plastic boxes in a suitcase.

Ecuador's environment ministry said the iguanas were in a weakened and dehydrated condition. Marine Galapagos iguanas are native to the Galapagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Pacific about 1,000 kilometres off Ecuador's coast.

A judge ordered pretrial detention for the woman on Saturday over the alleged crime against flora and wild fauna, the prosecutor's office said. Prosecutors said the case will be decided on September 18. She could face up to three years in prison if found guilty.