Chinese man gets almost 3 years old for 2K turtles in Hong Kong

A Chinese citizen has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for smuggling over 2,000 US turtles in Hong Kong for about five years, federal prosecutors said.

Sai Keung Tin, 54 years old, was sentenced on Friday for its role in the traffic of Eastern Box – a protected species, according to the US Justice Department. Tin, also known as Ricky Tin, was arrested on his arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, in February 2024.

In March 2024, TIN was accused in a four-account requisition of accusing him to smuggle the turtles of the east box for the global market trade market, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in December for four charges of export of goods contrary to the law.

According to the federal government’s conviction memorandum, TIN “helped and affected the US tortoise smugglers” from the US from February 2018 to June 2023. At that time, the prosecutors said that TIN has been running about 2,100 turtles at three addresses in Hong Kong.

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

Wild authorities intercepted authorities containing turtles

Following the arrest and indictment of Tin, the prosecutors revealed that TIN “helped the knowledge and illegally” in the export of 40 turtles with an eastern box in June 2023. The turtles were sent into four packages and intercepted by the fish and wild animal service agents.

The wild animal inspectors confiscated the packages at an international mail facility in Torrance, California, according to prosecutors. The packages had been falsely labeled as containing almonds and chocolate cakes.

Three of the packages each contained between eight and 12 live turtles in the east, prosecutors said. The fourth package contained seven living turtles and a dead tortoise.

All turtles were tied in socks to restrict their movement, so that they were undetected, according to prosecutors. The packages were addressed to each “Ji Yearng”, a name that is believed to be one of Tin’s allies and were to be sent to Tin’s residence in Hong Kong, the judicial documents said.

After intercepting the packages, the wild animals agents obtained a search warrant for the confiscation of TIN’s mobile phones, prosecutors said. Also, a special agent sought property recordings and discovered that the name listed as a package sender was false.

The information found on Tin’s mobile phones indicated that he has traveled to the US to smuggle turtles. Prosecutors said Tin planned to travel to New Jersey, Texas and Washington, so that they can become familiar with “tourist locations to present a fake story if it is retained.”

“His final plan was to pay for cash turtles, to deliver turtles throughout the country and, finally, to export them illegally to Hong Kong,” according to prosecutors. “He had detailed information on how to soften turtles to reduce smells and tie them in tape socks, all to avoid detection.”

Sai Keung Tin had links with another International Turtle Breast

Prosecutors accused TIN of having links with Kang Juntao, an international turtle in Hangzhou, China. Kang was extradited to the US from Malaysia after his arrest in 2019.

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

Prosecutors said that Kang has recruited poachers and suppliers to the US to send turtles internally to intermediaries, “who will then pack the turtles into 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 US to Hong Kong between June 2017 and December 2018. The market value of Turtles exceeded $ 2.25 million, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the intermediaries sent about 46 packages containing turtles in New York and New Jersey. The packages were then directed by an international mail installation at John F. Kennedy International Airport to be sent to addresses in Hong Kong – including TIN’s.

The judicial documents added that law enforcement continued to intercept the packages that were addressed to other smugglers following Kang’s arrest.

What are the turtles with an east box?

Prosecutors said Tin treated first and turtles with east box, a subspecies of turtle with common box. Eastern box turtles are original from the forest regions in the eastern US, with some isolated populations in Midwest, according to the Department of Justice.

“Turtles with colorful markings are highly appreciated pets, especially in China and Hong Kong, and are protected by the Convention on International Trade with End of Spair and Wild Floor (CITES),” said the Department of Justice. “China and the United States are parties in the quotation.”

While the East Turtle is not considered a disappearance species at national level, some states – including Michigan, New Hashshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut – have listed it as a special concern, according to the National Federation for Wild Fauna. The species is considered to be endangered in tomorrow.

The National Federation for Wild Fauna said that several factors, such as habitat loss, traffic incidents and pets, have contributed to the decline of species.

The latest incident of smuggling with wild animals

Tin’s conviction is the latest case of smuggling wild animals to make titles in recent years. Early this month, New Jersey Transport Security Administration Officers stopped a man who had Hid a tortoise in pants.

The man, who was from Pennsylvania, triggered an alarm while making a body scan at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to TSA. The man then removed a lively tortoise wrapped in a towel.

In February, California wild animal officials announced that three people were convicted and fined for illegal possession of protected and endangered animals. Their crimes were exposed after two people revealed to wild animal officers with simple clothes smuggling the turtle skull by way of extinction on a flight.

August 2023, a person was arrested after Texas Border Patrol Agents were found Seven spider monkeys hidden in a backpack. Reported USA Today In May 2023, that two tens of rare parrots were hatched after they were discovered in a smuggling operation at Miami International Airport.

“The trafficking in wild animals is the fourth largest organized crime in the world, after drug trafficking, counterfeiting and human trafficking,” according to the US Internal Security Department.