WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th December, 2020) A Chinese smuggler who purchased 1,500 American turtles and shipped them to Hong Kong for resale in black markets throughout Asia faces money laundering and wildlife trafficking charges, the US Justice Department said in a press release.
"Kang Juntao, 24, of Hangzhou City, China, was charged in February 2019 with financing a nationwide ring of individuals who smuggled at least 1,500 protected turtles out of the United States valued at $2,250,000," the release said on Thursday.
The indictment said that from June 2017 to December 2018, Kang purchased turtles, including common subspecies of the eastern US box turtle, and arranged for them to be smuggled to associates in Hong Kong. He sent money through US banks, to pay for the turtles and their illegal shipments, the release said.
The turtles would then be sold on the Asian pet trade black market for thousands of Dollars each, depending on their sex, coloring, and age, the release said.
Turtles are considered a culinary delicacy for special occasions in China, with added medicinal properties believed to promote longevity.
The United States, Malaysia, China, and approximately 181 other countries are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international treaty that restricts trade in species that may be threatened with extinction, the release said.
Kang, who was arrested by Malaysian police in 2019, allegedly trafficked five turtle species protected by the treaty including the eastern box turtle, the Florida box turtle, and the Gulf Coast box turtle, as well as the semi-aquatic spotted turtle and the wood turtle, the release added.
