UK, allies say Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was 'poisoned' by rare dart frog toxin: Here's what it is

Analyses of samples from Navalny's body 'conclusively' confirmed the presence ⁠of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia, the five governments said in a joint statement.

Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and ⁠the Netherlands are convinced that Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was "poisoned' with a lethal toxin ‌found in poison dart frogs, in an Arctic penal ​colony two years ago.

The five governments have said their findings were based on analyses of samples from Navalny's body, which they ​said "conclusively" confirmed the presence ⁠of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia.

Russia has also been reported to the Organisation ⁠on the Prohibition ‌of Chemical Weapons over the breach, a joint statement issued in London said. The Russian ‌government has repeatedly denied any responsibility for Navalny's death.

What is dart frog toxin and how does it work?

Epibatidine is a toxin that is found in poison dart frogs native to South America. Poison dart frogs are bright coloured small frogs which are highly toxic. Its skin secretions can cause paralysis, slow heart-rate, or death. These frogs do not produce their own poison, instead they ingest toxins through their diet. These toxins are then stored in their skin.

Alastair Hay, professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, was quoted in a BBC report as saying that a person poisoned by this toxin "dies of suffocation".

He also mentioned that presence of the toxin in someone's blood suggests "deliberate administration".

How rare is it?

Epibatidine is said to be extremely rare as it is found in only certain regions. The broadcaster reported that the dart frog which was referred by the UK Foreign Office, seems to be Anthony's poison arrow frog.

The toxin is produced when the frogs consume the foods which produce alkaloids.

Toxicology expert Jill Johnson said, "Finding a wild frog in the right place, eating exactly the food needed to produce the right alkaloids, is almost impossible... almost," as per the report.

She also noted that this is "an incredibly rare method of human poisoning".

Navalny died in ⁠an Arctic prison colony in February 2024. He was convicted of extremism and other ‌charges, all of which he denied. His ‌team and his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, have ‌since accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder.

He died "while ‌held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him", the joint statement said, adding ⁠that the ⁠findings showed Russia needed to be held accountable for "its repeated violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention and, in this instance, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention."

(With Reuters inputs)