Ecuador and peru drug cartels expand into illegal shark fin trafficking operations

Drug trafficking organizations in Ecuador and Peru have diversified their criminal enterprises to include the lucrative illegal shark fin trade, according to a comprehensive investigation by Ecuadorian news outlet Código Vidrio. The report reveals that narcotics gangs operating from Ecuador’s coastal Manabí province are systematically capturing sharks, harvesting their fins, and smuggling them to Asian markets as a profitable side business alongside their cocaine operations.

Ecuadorian authorities have uncovered compelling evidence of this wildlife trafficking network through wiretaps, surveillance operations, and raids. Police seized two fishing vessels near the Galápagos Islands in 2024 and 2025 carrying a combined 27 metric tons of shark fins. Significantly, these vessels were traveling the same maritime routes typically used by criminal organizations to transport cocaine to Central America and the United States. The fins are reportedly stored and preserved in the Galápagos before continuing their journey to Asian markets, where shark fin soup remains a prized delicacy.

The criminal expansion has created a perfect storm for shark populations already under severe threat. While Ecuador prohibits targeted shark fishing, a legal loophole dating to 2007 permits the sale of sharks caught incidentally as bycatch. This regulatory gap has transformed Ecuador into one of the world’s leading shark fin exporters despite the fishing ban. Previous investigations have documented how major drug cartels Los Choneros and Los Lobos have partnered with maritime pirates to control fishing ports, forcing local fishermen to surrender portions of their catch while pushing others into dangerous illegal fishing activities.