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A California man who smuggled more than 1,700 wild animals into the United States, including 60 reptiles hidden in his clothes, has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Jose Manuel Perez, 30, of Oxnard, pleaded guilty to two counts of smuggling and one count of wildlife trafficking.
Prosecutors said Perez and his associates used social media to arrange animal smuggling from Mexico and Hong Kong from 2016 to February this year.
Most were reptiles, including Yucatan box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby alligators and Mexican beaded lizards, according to a DOJ statement.
Importing the animals without a license is illegal under the International Treaty on Trade in Endangered Species, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Authorities say Perez paid accomplices transit fees to transport the animals from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, where he shipped them to his family’s home in Ventura County and resold them to Customers across the United States.
He also personally traveled to Mexico to pick up about three dozen animals, prosecutors said, and was arrested on Feb. 25 while trying to enter the United States with 60 reptiles hidden in his clothes pocket.
Three reptiles died.
Authorities estimated the smuggled reptiles were worth about $739,000.
Perez fled to Tijuana on bail in June but was quickly captured and returned to the United States. When he is sentenced on Dec. 1, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison on each smuggling charge.
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