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(CNN) – A Chinese national who allegedly financed a turtle trafficking ring was extradited from Malaysia to the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a statement on Thursday.
Kang Juntao, 24, from Hangzhou, eastern China, was initially charged with money laundering last February. Between June 2017 and December 2018, he allegedly funded a nationwide network of people who bought turtles in the US belonging to five protected species, and arranged their illegal shipment to Hong Kong.
“The turtles were inhumanely tied up with duct tape and placed in socks so as not to alert customs authorities,” the Justice Department statement said.
According to Kang’s indictment, at least 1,500 turtles, with a total value of $ 2,250,000, were smuggled out of the United States.
Using a PayPal account, Kang allegedly bought turtles from sellers who advertised on social media or reptile trading websites.
These sellers allegedly sent the turtles to “middlemen” who were “typically Chinese citizens who entered the country on student visas,” according to the Justice Department. Kang allegedly paid them and ordered them to repackage the turtles and use false labels for shipping to Hong Kong.
Once in Hong Kong, the turtles were allegedly sold on the black market for thousands of dollars each.
Kang allegedly did not declare the turtles to US or Chinese customs, nor did he obtain the required permits from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Authorities allege that Kang was trafficking in the eastern box turtle, the Florida box turtle, the Gulf Coast box turtle, the spotted turtle and the forest turtle, all species protected under the CITES treaty.
Kang was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia last January before his extradition to the United States on Thursday.
“Wildlife trafficking is a serious crime that affects endangered species at home and abroad,” said Aurelia Skipwith, director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, in the statement from the Department of Justice.
This story was first published on CNN.com “Chinese man extradited from Malaysia to the United States by a turtle smuggling ring worth millions”.
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