A man apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers with 43 lizards and nine snakes concealed in his clothing now faces several criminal charges.
Jose Manuel Perez, 30, is charged with nine counts of smuggling goods, two counts of wildlife trafficking, and one count of conspiracy, according to charging documents. Perez’s sister, 25-year-old Stephany Perez, is also charged with conspiracy.
Perez allegedly attempted to smuggle a total of more than 1,700 reptiles into the United States from Mexico. Some reptiles came from Hong Kong as well. He and his sister live in Oxnard, California, and he allegedly promoted the sale of his reptiles via social media.
MAN ARRESTED AT BORDER WITH 43 LIZARDS AND NINE SNAKES CONCEALED IN HIS CLOTHING
“After a potential buyer accused [Perez] of offering wild-caught reptiles from Mexico for sale, [Perez] responded that the animals were being saved from deforestation in Mexico so the animals were doomed anyway and should be enjoyed by [Perez’s] customers,” the document reads.
Officials say the salesman leaned into his niche of selling Mexican reptiles, captioning his social media posts as: “rare and uncommon and overlooked animals with a big focus on Mexican animals.” Perez apparently also assured customers of legality online when some became suspicious.
“As long as you are not openly knowingly buying smuggled animals there is not a single thing that [law enforcement] can do about it,” Perez reportedly wrote. “There’s no need for clear paperwork forms for any reptile in the hobby. Sure it helps some people feel better about buying but all we are doing is making unnecessary problems for our already unreasonable regulated hobby.”
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Now, Perez faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each smuggling count, five years in prison for each wildlife trafficking count, and five years for conspiracy.
