Man sentenced for trafficking nearly 2,000 reptiles into the US from Mexico

(Gray News) - A man was sentenced to 65 months in prison after he smuggled at least 1,700 reptiles into the United States from several places including Mexico and Hong Kong.

Jose Manuel Perez smuggled wildlife including Yucatán box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican beaded lizards for six years without obtaining required permits and without declaring any wildlife imported into the United States.

Perez used social media to sell the smuggled animals and posted photos and videos of the animals being captured in the wild.

The smuggled animals had a fair market value of more than $739,000.