Man pleads guilty to hiding exotic reptiles in his pants in smuggling scheme, feds say

A 30-year-old California man found with dozens of reptiles hidden in his clothes — with some stuffed in his pants — has pleaded guilty after he was accused of smuggling 1,700 critters into the United States, feds say.

U.S. Border Patrol agents said the man, who is from Oxnard in Ventura County, was found with the animals concealed in “mesh bags, stored inside his pockets, groin area and pant legs” while crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, McClatchy News previously reported.

The reptiles, hailing from Mexico and Hong Kong, included “Yucatan box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican beaded lizards,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District of California.

He was caught with the dozens of reptiles in his clothing while crossing into the United States from Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Feb. 25, feds say, and denied hiding the animals before then saying they were his pets.

On March 24, he was “charged with one count of conspiracy, nine counts of smuggling goods into the United States and two counts of wildlife trafficking,” officials say. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Aug. 24, to two counts of smuggling goods into the United States and one count of wildlife trafficking.

“Smugglers will try every possible way to try and get their product, or in this case live reptiles, across the border,” said Sidney Aki, director of field operations in San Diego for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The man wasn’t working alone, officials say. He is accused of paying his accomplices a crossing fee to take the goods from Cuidad Juarez International Airport in Mexico to El Paso, Texas, where they were then shipped to his home in Ventura County until finally being sold throughout the U.S.

His sister is accused of being involved in the scheme and faces a charge of conspiracy, with an arraignment scheduled for the “coming weeks,” according to the news release.

Officials said the man and his accomplices had been using social media from 2016 to February to arrange the smuggling of the exotic animals and promote them for sale, suggesting the animals had been caught in the wild.

Authorities say the reptiles had an estimated value of about $739,000.

The man’s sister is set to appear in court in February 2023.

Oxnard is located about 60 miles west of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Man pleads guilty to hiding exotic reptiles in his pants in smuggling scheme, feds say."