Chinese man pleads guilty in U.S. to smuggling protected turtles

Three turtles are seen sitting on rocks in this image. (Source: Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre/Facebook | Photo credit: Damon Hibbard)

New York — A Chinese man faces up to five years in prison for trying to smuggle protected turtles worth more than US$1 million from the U.S. to Hong Kong.

Wei Qiang Lin, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty on Monday 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 Justice Department said the live turtles had been wrapped in socks for the weeks-long journey and the boxes with the reptiles had been labeled as containing “plastic animal toys.”

The turtles, which had a market value of $1.4 million, were intercepted by law enforcement at a border inspection, it said.

Eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles feature colorful markings and are a “prized feature in the domestic and foreign pet market, particularly in China and Hong Kong,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

It said they are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

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 $250,000.