Mexico City - Mexican authorities located a building in the northern state of Nuevo Leon via the Internet that was used as a storage site for wild animals, some of them protected species, being sold by traffickers, the Profepa environmental protection agency said in a recent statement.

The discovery in Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo Leon, was the result of a joint investigation by Profepa and the Attorney General's Office.

Officers found a freezer containing 40 dead animals, among them 17 python regius snakes, two sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), two eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), two black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), one squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) and one cotton-top tamarind (Saguinus Oedipus).

They also found one parrot (Psittacidae), two common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus), three water monitor lizards (Varanus salvator), two swamp crocodiles (Crocodylus moreletti), four Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus), one corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) and red-eyed tree frogs (Agalychnis callidryas).

In addition to the dead animals, authorities recovered 12 animals found in deplorable conditions without food or water.

These included one sun parakeet (Aratinga solstilialis), one chinchilla, six desert turtles, two blue and gold macaws (Ara) and two Argentine monk parakeets. Parakeets and macaws are endangered species.

The investigation followed a tip submitted last October about the purchase and sale of endangered species via the Internet.

The live animals were taken to La Pastora Zoo Park, where they will be evaluated by veterinarians.