A Chinese man suspected of smuggling U.S. protected wildlife box turtles was recently arrested in Malaysia and extradited to the United States on 10.
At the request of the U.S. government, the Royal Malaysian Police arrested Kang Juntao, 24, of Hangzhou, China, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Jan. 23, 2019, and Kang was extradited to the United States today (Dec. 10) to face money laundering charges, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Kang Juntao was charged in February 2019 with financing a nationwide ring that smuggled at least 1,500 protected box turtles (box turtle) worth $2.25 million from the United States to Hong Kong.
According to the charges, Kang Juntao allegedly purchased box turtles from the United States from June 12, 2017, to Dec. 3, 2018, illegally smuggled them into Hong Kong, and then sold them to the Asian pet trade black market for several thousand dollars each, depending on the sex, color and age of the box turtle.
Some 181 countries, including the United States, Malaysia and China, are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and the five species of turtles Kang allegedly smuggled were all protected species under the convention: the Eastern Box Turtle, the Florida Box Turtle, the Gulf Coast Box Turtle, the Star-spotted Water Turtle and the Wooden Turtle, the Justice Department said.
According to the charges, Kang purchased box turtles from U.S. box turtle sellers via PayPal payments, who then shipped the turtles to middlemen in five different states. These middlemen were usually Chinese nationals who entered the country on student visas. Kang paid these middlemen and instructed them to repackage the box turtles they received, label them falsely, and ship them secretly to Hong Kong. To avoid the attention of customs, the box turtles were sealed with tape or packed in socks. The box turtles were not declared to U.S. or Chinese customs, and the necessary export permits were not obtained.
The Department of Justice said the Malaysian side turned Kang Juntao over to the U.S. side on Wednesday and extradited him to the U.S. on Dec. 10 under the terms of an extradition treaty between Malaysia and the U.S. The U.S. expressed its appreciation to the Malaysian government for the parties involved.
In this regard, Jonathan D. Brightbill, principal deputy assistant secretary of the federal Department of Justice, noted that “the Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting criminals who abuse the U.S. financial system to finance their illegal enterprises”; and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Skipwith ( Aurelia Skipwith) said, “The Trump administration is committed to wildlife conservation. I want to thank the U.S. Department of Justice and our various law enforcement partner departments for their assistance on this case. We are working together with each other to protect our nation’s wildlife for generations to come.”
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