Five people have been arrested and four referred to prosecutors for their alleged involvement in the unauthorized cultivation of Japanese killifish genetically modified to glow red, police said Wednesday.
The fish are believed to have originated from eggs taken from a lab at the Tokyo Institute of Technology by a student.
The arrests are the first in Japan for an alleged violation of the Cartagena law, which came into force in 2004 to regulate the use of genetically modified living organisms, according to the Tokyo police. Dubbed "swimming jewels," Japanese killifish of different colors and shapes have become popular with aquarium owners.