USFWS
Sometimes there are stories about criminals that make one wonder if they were trying to get caught. This case of a man trying to smuggle 850 protected turtles to Hong Kong from the United States is one of those stories.
Not a great plan
Wei Qiang Lin, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York to attempting to export more than 220 parcels containing around 850 eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles to Hong Kong. His turtle smuggling attempt consisted of labeling the living turtles as “plastic animal toys” and other things, then shipping them in delivery boxes, apparently ignoring the fact that shipping the protected turtles from the United States to Hong Kong in that fashion could take weeks.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between August 2023 and November 2024, Lin attempted to export to Hong Kong approximately 222 parcels containing the turtles, which had an approximate market value of $1.4 million.
“Law enforcement intercepted the turtles during a border inspection and observed them bound and taped inside knotted socks within the shipping boxes. Lin also exported 11 other parcels filled with reptiles including venomous snakes,” the DOJ wrote.
Why turtles?
USFWS
He mostly attempted to smuggle eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles, both of which are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), because they “feature colorful markings” and are “a prized feature in the domestic and foreign pet market, particularly in China and Hong Kong,” according to the DOJ.
Wei Qiang Lin will now face sentencing on Dec. 23. He could receive a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the illegal activity. He also agreed to abandon any property interest in the reptiles seized during the investigation.
This has happened before
Last October, a woman from China pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, again individually wrapped in socks, across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayak.
And in March, a Chinese citizen was sentenced to 30 months in prison for smuggling more than 2,000 turtles worth about $4.2 million from the United States to Hong Kong over a period of around five years. The turtles were in shipped in packages labeled as almonds and chocolate cookies.