Latest news with #SaiKeungTin
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Yahoo
Authorities make horrifying discovery after inspecting suspicious package at US mail facility — here's what they found
U.S. authorities uncovered a disturbing wildlife smuggling organization inside a Southern California mail facility. According to reports by CBS News, Sai Keung Tin, a smuggler from Hong Kong, was arrested for illegally exporting a protected turtle species. Federal authorities seized Tin at John F. Kennedy Airport for aiding and abetting turtle smuggling across the U.S. He was part of an international smuggling organization that trafficked the eastern box turtle, a protected species native to the U.S. Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, it is illegal to smuggle the eastern box turtle across international borders. The turtles were smuggled in boxes that claimed to be transporting almonds and chocolate cookies. Eight to 12 turtles were squished into each box and bound by socks to prevent movement. One of the turtles died, reported CBS News. After pleading guilty to four federal charges of exporting merchandise against the law, Tin was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. Wildlife trafficking is not only life-threatening for the animals being smuggled but also harmful to the entire ecosystem. As this incident highlights, many illegally smuggled animals do not survive the transport because they are forced into horrible conditions. If they do survive and are then introduced into an area they are not native to, these animals become an invasive species and can disrupt the local ecosystem. Invasive species destroy the ecological balance by competing with local flora and fauna for resources. Organizations across the globe are actively trying to stop wildlife tracking. One of the organizations is the World Wildlife Fund, which works to spread awareness of illegal wildlife trafficking and raise money to stop it. Some large corporations and airlines are taking a stance against wildlife smuggling by refusing to transport hunting trophies of certain species. Emirates, for example, will not transport hunting trophies from elephants, rhinos, lions, and tigers, even in cases where hunting these animals is legal. Should the U.S. government ban all products tested on animals? Absolutely No way Only certain kinds of products Let each state decide Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
CBS News
15-03-2025
- CBS News
Turtle trafficker in SoCal gets 30 months in prison for smuggling protect species to Hong Kong
A Hong Kong man was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison Friday for smuggling a protect turtles species after wildlife inspectors found the animals inside packages at a Southern California mail facility. Sai Keung Tin, also known as Ricky Tin, was arrested upon arriving to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City in February 2024, and on March 8, 2024, a grand jury indicted him on four counts of exporting merchandise contrary to law. In June 2023, inspectors found four packages containing 40 eastern box turtles and intercepted them at an international mail facility in Torrance. He pleaded guilty to all four federal charges in the case in December, admitting to the aiding and abetting of turtle smuggles in the U.S. between February 2018 and June 2023, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said the packages were falsely labeled as containing almonds and chocolate cookies, with three of the boxes containing between eight and 12 live turtles each, all of them bound in socks to restrict their movements so they would go undetected. The last of the four packages had seven live eastern box turtles and one dead one inside. Tin was associated with international turtle smuggler Kang Juntao, a resident of Hangzhou City, China who was extradited in 2019 from Malaysia and imprisoned for money laundering. Federal authorities said he was involved in the trafficking of at least 1,500 turtles — worth an estimated $2.25 million — from the U.S. to Hong Kong. He and Tin primarily trafficked the eastern box turtle, a subspecies of the common box turtle which is native to the U.S., according to prosecutors. Smuggling the species across international borders is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Federal agents obtained a search warrant to go through Tin's cellphones and later found evidence suggesting he came to the U.S. to smuggle the protected species, with plants to travel to states including Texas, New Jersey and Washington, according to prosecutors, who said he would familiarize himself with tourist attractions he could mention when lying to investigators later. "His ultimate plan was to pay for turtles in cash, ship turtles around the country, and eventually, illegally export them to Hong Kong," reads a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice Friday. "He had detailed information on how to soak turtles to reduce odors and bind them in socks with tape, all to avoid detection."
