• Businesswoman sends poisoned sweets to two girls
• Authorities request Interpol's assistance

A businesswoman named Zulma Guzman Castro has been charged with killing two teenage girls after providing them with chocolate-covered raspberries laced with poison, in an incident described as an act of revenge following a secret affair with the father of one of the victims.

According to reports, Ines de Bedout (14) and her friend Emilia Forero (13) died in hospital after consuming the sweets, which were found to contain toxic thallium.

The girls had been at a luxury apartment in Bogota, Colombia, with one victim’s older brother and another friend when they consumed the poisoned treats on April 3.

Thallium, a colorless, odorless, and tasteless substance, is used in electronics, optical lenses, and radiation detection devices.

Guzman is suspected of injecting the berries with the poison before sending them to the girls via a delivery company.

The girls died four days later, while another teenager and the 21-year-old brother of one of the victims survived despite being hospitalized.

Colombian judicial authorities requested Interpol issue a red notice for Guzman, especially after her secret relationship with Ines’ father, Juan de Bedout, was revealed, amid indications that the incident was revenge-motivated.

Guzman denied any involvement in the incident, asserting that she did not flee the country and that her travel between Argentina, Spain, Brazil, and the United Kingdom was for work and study, and that she had not been formally notified of any investigation before her name appeared in the media.

In a statement, she called for no pre-judgment against her.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the girls’ deaths, while authorities continue searching for the suspect, whose current location is unknown.