Chinese man pleads guilty in US to smuggling protected turtles / Photo: - - USFWS/AFP
NYSE - LSE
| RYCEF | 2.09% | 14.8 | $ | |
| BCC | -0.63% | 72.595 | $ | |
| CMSC | -0.47% | 23.32 | $ | |
| RBGPF | 1.07% | 79.2 | $ | |
| BCE | -1.46% | 23.21 | $ | |
| RIO | -0.08% | 73 | $ | |
| RELX | -1.91% | 39.565 | $ | |
| SCS | 0.83% | 16.275 | $ | |
| VOD | -0.08% | 12.46 | $ | |
| NGG | 0.25% | 75.6 | $ | |
| GSK | 0.04% | 48.43 | $ | |
| BTI | 0.6% | 57.355 | $ | |
| BP | 0.42% | 35.98 | $ | |
| JRI | -0.47% | 13.725 | $ | |
| AZN | -0.13% | 90.06 | $ | |
| CMSD | 0.06% | 23.265 | $ |
Chinese man pleads guilty in US to smuggling protected turtles
A Chinese man faces up to five years in prison for trying to smuggle protected turtles worth more than $1 million from the United States 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 December 23. Lin faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
D.Sabatelli--LDdC
