A California man who smuggled greater than 1,700 wild animals into the USA, together with 60 reptiles hidden in his clothes, has pleaded responsible to federal costs.
Jose Manuel Perez, 30, of Oxnard, entered pleas to 2 counts of smuggling and a cost of wildlife trafficking.
Prosecutors mentioned that from 2016 to this February, Perez and his accomplices used social media to rearrange to smuggle animals from Mexico and Hong Kong.
Most had been reptiles and included Yucatan field turtles, Mexican field turtles, child crocodiles and Mexican beaded lizards, based on an announcement from the US Division of Justice.
It's unlawful to import the animals with out permits underneath a world treaty on the commerce of endangered species, the DOJ mentioned.
Perez paid accomplices a crossing payment to drive animals from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, the place he had them shipped to his household’s Ventura County residence and resold them to clients all through the US, authorities mentioned.
He additionally made some three dozen journeys to Mexico himself to choose up animals, and on February 25 he was arrested whereas attempting to enter the US with 60 reptiles hidden in luggage of his clothes, prosecutors mentioned.
Three of the reptiles died.
The smuggled reptiles had been price about 739,000 US dollars, authorities estimated.
Perez fled to Tijuana in June whereas out on bond however was rapidly captured and returned to the US. He may withstand 20 years in federal jail for every smuggling depend when he's sentenced on December 1.