A Chinese national in New York City has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally exporting hundreds of live turtles from the United States to Hong Kong in a scheme that misrepresented the reptiles as childrens toys.
Wei Qiang Lin of Brooklyn entered the plea Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, admitting to a smuggling operation that ran from August 2023 through November 2024 and involved the shipment of approximately 850 turtles concealed in 222 separate parcels.
According to court records, the shipments were falsely labeled as containing “plastic animal toys” and other misleading descriptions, while the actual cargo — bound turtles stuffed into knotted socks — was transported over several weeks across international borders. The estimated market value of the smuggled reptiles was $1.4 million.
Law enforcement intercepted the shipments during border inspections and discovered the animals inside shipping boxes, tightly restrained and concealed. In addition to the turtles, Lin exported 11 other parcels containing reptiles, including venomous snakes.
The turtles at the center of the case — eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles — are native to the United States and are sought after in both domestic and international pet markets for their distinctively colorful markings. Their popularity in China and Hong Kong has contributed to their protected status under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty designed to prevent the exploitation of endangered wildlife. Both turtle species were added to CITES protections after decades of illegal trade, particularly during the 1990s when tens of thousands were exported annually.
Lins sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 23. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 — or twice the financial gain from the crime. As part of the plea agreement, Lin will forfeit any ownership claims to the reptiles seized during the investigation.
The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service led the investigation with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
