California reptile smuggler learns fate for sneaking 1,700 scaly beasts into the US

Fuente: New York Post

A Southern California man has been sentenced to 65 months in federal prison after authorities uncovered a years-long operation that smuggled thousands of live reptiles into the United States from Mexico and China. Jose Manuel Perez, 34, pleaded guilty in August 2022 to smuggling goods into the country and wildlife trafficking.   Federal prosecutors said that from January 2016 through February 2022, Perez and his co-conspirators moved illegal wildlife across borders without the permits required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and failed to declare the animals upon entry.