BUFFALO, NY – A Brooklyn resident pleaded guilty Monday to smuggling hundreds of protected U.S. turtles overseas by labeling them as plastic toys and shipping them to Hong Kong in parcels stuffed with bound reptiles.
Wei Qiang Lin entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York after federal authorities uncovered that, between August 2023 and November 2024, he shipped approximately 850 live turtles in 222 separate parcels with false labels. The turtles, primarily eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles, were declared as “plastic animal toys” and similarly innocuous items.
According to court documents, agents intercepted the shipments and discovered the turtles stuffed in knotted socks and bound with tape inside delivery boxes. Eleven additional parcels included reptiles such as venomous snakes. The total market value of the smuggled animals was estimated at $1.4 million.
The turtle species involved are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international wildlife trade. Native to the United States, the turtles are heavily trafficked due to their distinct markings and popularity in the exotic pet market, particularly in China and Hong Kong.
Lin is scheduled to be sentenced on December 23. He faces up to five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine or twice the financial gain from the smuggling scheme. As part of the plea agreement, Lin will forfeit any ownership claims to the seized reptiles.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with support from Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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Key Points
- Wei Qiang Lin pleaded guilty to smuggling protected turtles overseas disguised as toys
- Nearly 850 turtles were hidden in socks and shipped to Hong Kong from 2023 to 2024
- Lin faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his December sentencing
