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http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr...enced-36-months-wildlife-smuggling-conspiracy

"President of Florida Auction House Sentenced to 36 Months for Wildlife Smuggling Conspiracy"

excerpt:

"Company Banned from Selling Wildlife and Ordered to Pay $1.5 Million Fine

Christopher Hayes, the President and owner of a Florida auction house was sentenced today in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, to 36 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his role in the illegal wildlife smuggling conspiracy in which he bought, sold and smuggled rhinoceros horns and objects made from rhino horn, elephant ivory and coral that were smuggled from the United States to China. Hayes? corporation, Elite Estate Buyers Inc., located in Boynton Beach, Florida, was ordered to pay a $1.5 million criminal fine to the Lacey Act reward fund. The court also banned the corporation from trading wildlife during a five year term of probation.

?Illegal wildlife trade threatens the survival of many endangered species,? said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. ?The Department of Justice has made it a priority to protect our natural resources. Our enforcement efforts are in place to stop illegal trade practices that endanger the conservation of nature.?"

frankly i only came across this article cuz whenever i purchase any flora or fauna, i do a background check on the seller. why? cuz lately, i've seen so many acquaintances being arrested on the spot and charged with everything from minor civil misdeameanors thru to major felonies with no bail and no visits allowed! which is weird cuz the latest trend was that jails and prisons were broke and so could not afford to take in anyone but serial rapists and mass murderers and the like, but not anymore. in any case whether local authorities can continue to keep criminals behind bars or not is secondary to the fact that nevertheless, despite a 2-decade long decline in nationwide crime, it is now suddenly back on the rise (why?)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-nationwide-crime-wave-1432938425

anyways, getting back to the illegal animals theme, more often than not, recently, on kingsnake, i have googled the full name of the seller only to find out the seller was charged at some time in the past (often like 5 or 10 years ago) for smuggling reptiles and other fauna.. and googling sometimes leads to articles indicating the customers of the smugglers (ie, ones who purchase animals from mailorder websites, likely unaware the specimens were smuggled) also indicted on charges of smuggling. undercover sting ops on craigslist is becoming more common i hear.

transporting certain species of wildlife including some nonvenomous reptiles across states also now consitutes a felony even if the animal(s) are captive born or raised.

bottom line is this is good for the environment, aint it?

definitely food for thought.. i mean even if its a farm-raised coral frag acquired at the local frag swap or left on our doorstep from the successors of flying fish express, if its endangered species regardless of how it was obtained then there's a huge federal liability (given the above precedence).. aint there?
 

BAD FISH

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I guess you could say that but they are not looking for us " little guys" they want the wholesalers making hundreds of thousands on importing . They are not looking for a guy with a reef tank or two.
 

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