Malaysia extradites alleged Chinese turtle smuggler to US for court charges

 

A man from China accused of financing a nationwide ring to smuggle turtles out of the US has been extradited from Malaysia.

According to the US Department of Justice, the 24-year-old suspect had allegedly purchased at least 1,500 protected turtles valued at US$2.25 million (RM9 million) illegally and had them smuggled out.

Payments were made via PayPal to purchase various turtle species from sellers in the US, who would then ship the turtles to intermediaries - typically China nationals on student visas.

The middlemen would then repackage the turtles in boxes with false labels and ship them to Hong Kong.

"The turtles were inhumanely bound with duct tape and placed in socks so as not to alert Customs authorities," the DOJ said in a statement today.

The turtles would then be sold in the black market.

Among the turtle species smuggled were the eastern box turtle, the Florida box turtle, the Gulf Coast box turtle, the spotted turtle and the wood turtle.

These turtles are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which the US, China and Malaysia are signatories of.

The suspect was arrested by Malaysian police in January 2019 following a request by the US.

The extradition process was completed in court in September this year, and the suspect was handed over on Wednesday.

The suspect will be charged with money laundering. - Mkini