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The Chinese man is almost 3 years to smuggled from 2k turtles to Hong Kong

The Chinese man is almost 3 years to smuggled from 2k turtles to Hong Kong

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A Chinese citizen has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for smuggling to more than 2,000 turtles from the United States to Hong Kong for about five years, federal prosecutors said.

Sai Keung Tin, 54, was sentenced on Friday for his role in Turtles Trafficking in the Eastern Fund, a protected species, according to the United States Department of Justice. Tin, also known as Ricky Tin, was arrested upon arrival at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in February 2024.

In March 2024, Tin was accused in an accusation of four positions that accused him of smuggling the turtles of the Eastern Fund for the Global Black Trade Black market, prosecutors said. It declared guilty in December of four export positions of goods contrary to the law.

According to the federal government’s judgment, the tin “helped and abet Tortugas smuggers” in the United States from February 2018 to June 2023. During that time, prosecutors said that Tin de Tin de Tin de Tin de Tin in Hong Kong.

“Based on a conservative assessment of the contemporary market of $ 2,000 per turtle, smuggling reptiles were valued at $ 4.2 million,” said the Department of Justice in a press release.

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Wild life authorities intercepted packages containing turtles

After the arrest and the tin prosecution, prosecutors revealed that the can “illegally and killingly” in the export of 40 turtles of the Eastern Fund in June 2023. The turtles were sent in four packages and intercepted by Fish and Wildlife Service Agents of the United States.

The wildlife inspectors confiscated the packages in an international mail installation in Torrance, California, according to prosecutors. The packages had been falsely labeled as they contained almonds and chocolate cookies.

Three of the packages contained between eight and 12 live oriental box turtles, prosecutors said. The fourth package contained seven living turtles and a dead turtle.

All turtles were tied to socks to restrict their movement so that they were not detected, according to prosecutors. The packages went to “Ji Yearlong”, a name that is believed to be one of the tin alias, and should be sent to the tin residence in Hong Kong, according to judicial documents.

After intercepting the packages, wildlife agents obtained a search warrant to confiscate tin cell phones, prosecutors said. A special agent also sought in property records and discovered that the name that appeared as the sender in the packages was false.

The information found on tin cell phones indicated that he traveled to the United States to smuggle the turtles. The prosecutors said that Tin had planned to travel to New Jersey, Texas and Washington to be able to familiarize himself with “tourist locations to present a false story if he stops.”

“His final plan was to pay the turtles in cash, send turtles throughout the country and, finally, illegally export them to Hong Kong,” according to prosecutors. “I had detailed information on how to soak the turtles to reduce odors and join them in socks with adhesive tape, everything to avoid detection.”

Sai Keung Tin had links with another international turtle smuggler

Prosecutors accused Tin of having ties with Kang Boardo, an international turtle smuggler from Hangzhou, China. Kang was extradited to the United States from Malaysia after his arrest in 2019.

In 2021, Kang was sentenced to 38 months in prison and a year of supervised release in a federal money laundering sentence, according to prosecutors.

The prosecutors said that Kang recruited poachers and suppliers in the US. To send nationwide turtles to the intermediaries, “which would later group the turtles in other packages and export them to Hong Kong.”

The judicial documents showed that Kang was responsible for at least 1,500 turtles that were sent from the United States to Hong Kong between June 2017 and December 2018. The market value of the turtles exceeded $ 2.25 million, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said intermediaries sent around 46 packages containing New York and New Jersey turtles. Then, the packages were enrupted through an international mail installation at the John F. Kennedy International Airport to be sent to addresses in Hong Kong, including Tin’s.

The judicial documents added that the police had continued to intercept packages that were aimed at Tin and other smugglers after Kang’s arrest.

What are the turtles of the Eastern Fund?

The prosecutors said that Tin mainly trafficked turtles from the East Box, a common cash turtle subspecies. The turtles of the Eastern Fund are native to forest regions in the east of the United States with some isolated populations in the west, according to the Department of Justice.

“The turtles with colorful brands are very appreciated pets, particularly in China and Hong Kong, and are protected by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species End of Fauna and Wild Flora (CITES),” said the Department of Justice. “China and the United States are dating parties.”

Although the east turtle of the box is not considered an endangered species at the national level, some states, including Michigan, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut, have listed it as a kind of special concern, according to the National Silvestre Federation. The species is considered in danger in Maine.

The National Wildlife Federation said that several factors, such as habitat loss, traffic incidents and pet commerce, have contributed to the decrease in the species.

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Last incident of wild life smuggling

Tin’s judgment is the last case of wild life smuggling to appear in the headlines in recent years. Earlier this month, the officers of the Transportation Security Administration in New Jersey arrested a man who had hidden a turtle in your pants.

The man, who was from Pennsylvania, caused an alarm while making a body scan at the Newark Liberty International Airport on March 7, according to TSA. Then, the man took out a lively turtle wrapped in a towel of his pants.

In February, California’s wildlife officials announced that three people were convicted and fined for the illegal possession of protected and endangered animals. His crimes were exposed after two people revealed to the civil life officers of the civilians who were smuggle a marine turtle skull in danger of extinction On a flight.

In August 2023, a person was arrested after Texas Border Patrol agents found Seven spider monkeys hidden in a backpack. Use Today reported In May 2023, that two dozen rare parrots were plotted after they were discovered in a smuggling operation at Miami International Airport.

“Wildlife traffic is the fourth largest organized crime in the world, after drug trafficking, falsification and trafficking in persons,” according to the United States National Security Department.

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