A Chinese man has pleaded guilty in a US district court to exporting around 850 protected turtles wrapped in socks and falsely labelled as toys, the US Department of Justice said.
Between August 2023 and November 2024, Wei Qiang Lin exported to Hong Kong more than 200 parcels containing the turtles, according to a Justice Department statement on Monday.
The boxes packed with the turtles had been labelled as “containing ‘plastic animal toys’, among other things”, the authorities said.
Lin primarily shipped eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles. Both species are native to the US and highly prized by some pet owners.
The turtles have unique markings on their shells, and are seen as a status symbol in China where they are often kept as pets.
US authorities estimated that Lin’s seized turtles had a combined market value of $1.4m (£1m). He was caught when the animals were intercepted by law enforcement during one border inspection.
Both species, which were smuggled in large quantities in the 1990s, are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Trade of the turtles can only be authorised with export permits or re-export certificates.
The eastern box turtle is also deemed vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Besides the turtles, Lin also exported 11 other parcels filled with reptiles, including venomous snakes, according to the Justice Department.
Lin, who is set to be sentenced on 23 December, faces up to five years in prison.
In March, another Chinese national was sentenced to 30 months in prison for smuggling more than 2,000 eastern box turtles.
The animals were also wrapped in socks and packed in boxes, which were labelled as containing almonds and chocolate cookies.
US authorities estimated at the time that each turtle could have been sold for $2,000 (£1,500).
