Man charged with smuggling box turtles found in socks in California
A Chinese man has been charged with smuggling protected turtles after the animals bound inside socks were intercepted in packages in Southern California, prosecutors said.
A Chinese man has been charged with smuggling protected turtles after the small animals bound inside socks were intercepted in packages in Southern California, prosecutors said Monday.
Sai Keung Tin, 53, was indicted Friday on four counts of exporting merchandise contrary to law, records show.
The eastern box turtles, kept inside socks to keep them from making noise, were found last year in four packages at a U.S. mail facility in Torrance, which were addressed to Tin’s home, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement.
The turtles, which grow to around 6 inches, can live around 100 years, and they can have colorful shell patterns, the office said.
The eastern box turtle is protected through an international convention, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, as well as by federal law.
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