Two Shamans Arrested For Administering Woman, 31, Frog Poison As Detox Treatment

Cops in Mexico have arrested two alleged shamans after a woman died after she inhaled smoke from the poison extracted from a frog in a detoxification ritual.

Juan Pablo, 41, and Juan Diego, 30, surnames not reported, were arrested in the city of Nogales in the Mexican state of Sonora on the night of Saturday, 29th January.

The Municipal Police were called to a stretch of road to attend to an intoxicated person. When the cops arrived on the scene, paramedics were already there.

The two suspects in the death of the woman Perla N., 31, who allegedly died after inhaling smoke from the poison of a Peruvian frog in Nogales, Mexico on 29th January 2022. (Newsflash)

However, they were unable to save the woman, identified only as Perla, 31, who was lying lifeless on the ground as a result of pulmonary aspiration due to intoxication.

At the scene were the two men, who claimed to be shamans of ancestral medicine. They told the cops that the deceased and six others had taken part in a ritual.

As part of the ritual, the men supplied the woman with the poison extracted from a frog from Peru as part of a detoxification rite. They were arrested at the scene.

Local media did not report the species of frog. However, it may have been a giant leaf frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor), which is used in a so-called Kambo cleansing.

A Kambo cleansing is a purge using skin secretions of the giant leaf frog or other similar species.

It originated as a folk medicine practice among the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and there is no scientific evidence that it is an effective treatment.

Effects on humans include tachycardia (rapid heartbeat); nausea; vomiting; diarrhoea; kidney, pancreas and liver damage; seizures; and even death.

At the time of reporting, the suspects had not been charged.