LOS ANGELES – Jose Manuel Perez of Oxnard, California was sentenced to more than five years in prison after trying to smuggle more than 60 reptiles hidden under his clothes.
According to US authorities, Perez participated in the smuggling of reptiles from Mexico to the United States for six years, during which time he managed to smuggle at least 1,700 animals.
Smuggled turtles, crocodiles and lizards
The indictment alleges that between January 2016 and February 2022, Perez and his accomplices transported various species of reptiles across the border, including Yucatan turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican lizards.
The market value of the smuggled animals is estimated to exceed $739,000.
Social networks were used for trade
The investigators established that a group of smugglers used social networks to buy and sell animals from the wild, as well as to organize their transport.
The ads contained photos and videos of animals caught in their natural habitat, after which deliveries to customers were organized.
Animals were transported across the border
Smugglers picked up the animals at the “Ciudad Juarez” International Airport in Mexico, and then transported them in vehicles across the border to El Paso in the US state of Texas.
Perez paid a special fee for each shipment, the amount of which depended on the number of animals transported and the estimated risk of detection.
He already had a prison sentence
Perez pleaded guilty in August 2022 to two counts of smuggling goods into the US and one count of illegal wildlife trade.
The new sentence of more than five years in prison was imposed on him in addition to the existing nine-year prison sentence, reports Srna.
