His pets? Man smuggled 60 reptiles under his clothes

Oxnard (USA) – A California man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for smuggling reptiles for years. The authorities discovered him when he was caught with more than 60 animals at the same time.

Jose Manuel Perez from Oxnard, California, had a total of at least 1,700 reptiles over six years Brought to the USA. The man has now been sentenced to almost five and a half years in prison. The market value of the smuggled animals: more than 739,000 US dollars (around 641,300 euros).

Baby crocodiles and crustaceans in the luggage

As the District Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced, Perez had already pleaded guilty in August 2022 to two counts of smuggling goods into the United States and one count of wildlife trafficking. Accordingly, he and his accomplices had between January 2016 and February 2022 Animals brought across the border – mainly reptiles such as Yucatán box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican crusted lizards.

According to media reports, the gang took advantage social mediato buy and sell animals taken from the wild and organize their delivery. Advertisements for the reptiles included photos and videos showing the animals being captured in the wild.

The smugglers picked up the animals at the international airport Airport Ciudad Juárez in Mexico before transporting them in vehicles across the border to El Paso in Texas. Perez paid a “conveyance fee” for each shipment. The amount depended on factors such as the number of animals transported and the risk of being discovered.

Arrest with 60 reptiles under clothing

On February 25, 2022, Perez came into the attention of the authorities. He attempted to enter the United States with about 60 reptiles hidden in bags under his clothing, CBS News reported. According to media reports, he claimed the animals were his pets. Perez is serving the sentence in addition to an existing nine-year sentence in a federal prison. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, the US Attorney’s Office said.