Scientists have discovered that sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine.
Marine biologists from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation found high levels of the drug in 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks near Rio de Janeiro.
The cocaine concentrations were up to 100 times higher than those found in other aquatic creatures.
This research, which is the first to detect cocaine in sharks, suggests that the drug may be entering the waters through illegal manufacturing sites or through the excrement of drug users.
Packs of cocaine lost or dumped by traffickers at sea could also be a source, though this is less likely, researchers say.
Sara Novais, a marine eco-toxicologist at the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre of the Polytechnic University of Leiria, told Science magazine that the findings are “very important and potentially worrying”.
All females in the study were pregnant, but the consequences of cocaine exposure for the foetuses are unknown, experts say.
Further research is required to ascertain whether cocaine is changing the behaviour of the sharks.
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