Chinese national held in global $2.2 million turtle smuggling scheme
A Chinese national is in federal custody in New Jersey after investigators said he financed an international smuggling ring that shipped more than 1,500 endangered turtles from the United States to China, valued at more than $2.2 million.
The turtles, many of which were bound with duct tape, stuffed into socks and shipped in mislabeled packages, were sold for as much as $20,000 each on the Asian pet black market, authorities said.
Kang Juntao, 24, of Hangzhou City, China, was extradited from Malaysia and arrived in the United States on Thursday, where he appeared virtually in U.S. District Court in Newark on charges of money laundering. He is being held without bail pending arraignment.
Prosecutors say Kang ran the smuggling ring from China and had never set foot in the United States before landing at JFK International Airport in New York on Thursday, escorted by federal officials.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/chinese-national-held-in-global-dollar22-million-turtle-smuggling-scheme/ar-BB1bRbg1?ocid=DELLDHP&li=BBnbfcL
= new reply since forum marked as read
