A California man is facing federal charges for his alleged role in a plot to illegally export hundreds of protected turtles to Asia, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice announced Friday<\/a> that Donald Do of Daly City was arrested on federal wildlife trafficking charges. Do has been charged with conspiracy and violations of the Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits the trade of illegally sourced wildlife.<\/p>\n According to the indictment, Do and an unnamed accomplice in California attempted to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan between Dec. 2022 and May 2024. Prosecutors said the co-conspirator obtained an export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based on a false claim by Do that he hatched and raised the turtles, when in fact he had not.<\/p>\n After obtaining the export permit, Do allegedly bought wild musk turtles poached from Florida and elsewhere and tried to obtain more.<\/p>\n “Do told sellers he was willing to take ‘wild caught’ and sent instructions to ship turtles to San Francisco,” the DOJ said in a statement.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said Do and the co-conspirator also attempted to obtain more than 200 turtles from Albert Bazaar, a Louisiana man who was detained last week for alleged turtle trafficking<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bazaar was also charged with conspiracy and Lacey act violations, for allegedly poaching and selling more than 1,700 loggerhead musk turtles, 100 stripe-neck musk turtles and 15 striped musk turtles from their habitats in Florida, according to the indictment against him.<\/p>\n After Do was unsuccessful in exporting the turtles, prosecutors said he tried to conceal his role by lying to his co-conspirator that he had sold the turtles to other domestic buyers.<\/p>\n According to prosecutors, loggerhead musk turtles were added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species list of protected species in 2022.<\/p>\n 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 charges.<\/p>\n A status conference on Do’s case is scheduled for July 31.<\/p>\n