LAKELAND - A new kind of undercover officer in Florida is cruising the internet. They are looking for "eco-criminals" who sell animals or their meat illegally.



"So when you catch them, why do they say they do it?" we asked the man who heads up a new cyber unit at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. We are keeping his identity secret at the agency's request.



"For the money," he said.



"Is there big money in this?"



"There is very large money in this," he remarked.



The unit has six undercover officers stationed around the state. The man who runs it works in Lakeland. It's first year anniversary is right about now.



So far, team members have arrested almost 180 people. Several people have been nabbed for taking gators out of season. A Lutz man was arrested for selling blue gill, a protected species, to collectors.



If you know where to look , you can find just about any animal you want on the net. You can even buy a piranha.



Wildlife experts worry if something like that got loose here, it would upset our state's delicate ecosystem. It would also be a nightmare for tourism officials.



"But the real problem is that the piranha would establish themselves in the environment and would out compete the bass," said FWC spokesman Gary Morse. That, he said, could lead to a decline in sports fishing, one of Florida's cash cows.

www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/polk/policing-the-exotic-animal-trade-11292010

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