Chinese man pleads guilty in US to smuggling protected turtles worth $1.8m
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Lin Wei Qiang of Brooklyn pleaded guilty to exporting more than 220 parcels containing around 850 eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK – A man faces up to five years in prison for trying to smuggle protected turtles with a market value of US$1.4 million (S$1.8 million) from the US to Hong Kong.
Lin Wei Qiang of Brooklyn, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty on Aug 11 in a federal district court in New York to exporting more than 220 parcels containing around 850 eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles.
The US Justice Department said the live turtles were wrapped in socks for the weeks-long journey, and the boxes with the reptiles were labelled as containing “plastic animal toys”.
The turtles were intercepted by law enforcement at a border inspection.
Eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles feature colourful markings and are highly sought after “in the domestic and foreign pet market, particularly in China and Hong Kong”, said the department in a statement.
It added that the turtles are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Sentencing was set for Dec 23. Lin faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to US$250,000. AFP
