A Daly City man suspected of purchasing and exporting hundreds of poached turtles from Florida faces federal wildlife trafficking charges, according to Justice Department officials.
The agency announced Friday that Donald Do was arrested and charged with submitting false documentation in an attempt to obtain a permit that would allow him to ship wild and protected turtles to Asia.
Do's arrest was part of a joint state and federal offensive called Operation Southern Hot Herps, which was launched to detect and deter turtle poachers in the southeastern United States involved in the Asian pet trade.
According to the Department of Justice, Do and an accomplice attempted to export 292 loggerhead sea turtles to Taiwan. The co-conspirator obtained an export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based on a false claim by Do that he raised and raised the turtles, the Justice Department said.
Loggerhead turtles have large heads and powerful jaws, allowing them to feed on hard-shelled prey. They are found throughout the world, primarily in subtropical and temperate regions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
After Do obtained the permit, he purchased the turtles, which had been poached in Florida and other areas, informing the sellers that he was interested in “wild-caught” turtles, officials said. The two men also attempted to obtain more than 200 freshwater reptiles from Albert Bazaar of Louisiana, who was arrested last week on animal trafficking charges, according to authorities.
In that case, Bazaar was accused of stealing more than 1,800 wild turtles from Florida streams and selling them to a co-conspirator specializing in the Asian pet market for more than $550,000.
After unsuccessfully exporting the turtles, Do attempted to conceal his role by telling his accomplice that he had sold them to other domestic buyers, authorities said.
Do's plot, officials said, was a violation of the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking in fish, wildlife or plants illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold.
Do pleaded not guilty in a May 13 court hearing before U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixon. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in San Francisco for a status hearing on July 31, according to court records.
If convicted, Do faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the conspiracy and Lacey Act counts.
