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STAR ADVERTISER (Honolulu, Hawaii) 27 January 11 Japanese national sentenced in turtle smuggling operation (Nelson Daranciang)
The illegal importation of exotic animals into the United States is a growing problem that generates profits for smugglers that are second only to the importation of illicit drugs, said federal prosecutor Thomas Brady.
"It's just to have a pet that no one else has. That's what's driving this market," he said.
However, Brady recommended a light sentence yesterday for a man who admitted trying to smuggle 42 live turtles and tortoises into the country from Japan in a suitcase last year.
Brady said Hiroki Uetsuki, 36, gave investigators information that led to the capture this month of two men in Los Angeles who are accused of running an illegal animal-smuggling operation.
His lawyer, Shanlyn Park, said Uetsuki, a Japanese national, only agreed to smuggle the reptiles because he was having financial difficulties. "He didn't even know how the turtles were packaged," Park said.
Brady said the animals, 20 fly river turtles, two white-fronted box turtles and 20 Burmese star tortoises, were in three containers with temperature- and moisture-control devices in the suitcase.
U.S. District Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway said yesterday she intended to sentence Uetsuki this morning to the jail time he has served from his arrest Aug. 30 at Honolulu Airport to his release 10 days later to a halfway house.
Mollway postponed Uetsuki's sentencing until today to let him spend another night in the halfway house before his flight back to Japan this afternoon.
Japanese national sentenced in turtle smuggling operation

The illegal importation of exotic animals into the United States is a growing problem that generates profits for smugglers that are second only to the importation of illicit drugs, said federal prosecutor Thomas Brady.

Time and time again I see this ridiculous statement. Its absolutely ludicrous to make this type of comparison. Growing problem? Its almost non existent compared to what it used to be. And it was never big in the states.

Maybe federal prosecutor Thomas Brady can show us where all this profit is. Where are the rich animal smugglers? We all see the rich drug lords. Drug money supports the economy's of entire country's, In the US alone illicit drugs generate tens of millions of dollars everyday.

Again. Where is all this illegal exotic animal money? I'll tell you, its all on paper, its in the grossly overrated values placed on these animal deals by the guys that are trying to make their jobs look relevant. Guys are definitely making a few bucks here and there but that's about it. I would venture a guess that the weekly profits generated by the trade of illicit drugs in the US eclipse's the total profits earned in the exotic animal trades most lucrative decade.

Its amazing how the feds can spend months / years on a job trying to catch a couple of small time guys with a few turtles worth a few grand. Then act like they accomplished something but when it comes to..............the guys that bring heroin into the country on ships by the metric ton worth millions of dollars or the massive and steady flow of other illicit drugs, Or how about the truck loads of illicit humans................yeah right.

ERNIE EISON
WESTWOOD ACRES REPTILE FARM INC.

Yeah, I've just about come to the conclusion they should just take down the border. It's a little too late to put that genie back into the bottle. I live pretty close to/amongst the issue, so I think I'm reasonably qualified to have an opinion.

Leave it to todays inept and corrupt hypocrite politicians to destroy what our forefathers envisioned and what our Greatest Generation fought to save.

Same with the "War on Drugs"...nothing but hypocrite fodder and a bottomless pit for taxpayer dollars.

Hey, I'm entitled to my opinion. I'm just always ahead of the curve. "Listen to me now and believe me later"...

jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

I am sick and tired of this industry being likened to that of drug smuggling. Does everyone see where this is headed? I would liken human smuggling, illegal arms dealing and such, with that of drug smuggling. But those players are much harder to pick on then a bunch of people who choose to work with animals.

KCAL (Los Angeles, California) 31 January 11 Japanese Men Plead Not Guilty In ‘Operation Flying Turtle’- Face up to 26 years in prison
Los Angeles (CBS): Two Japanese nationals pleaded not guilty on Monday to conspiring to smuggle more than 50 live turtles and tortoises into the United States by concealing them in snack food boxes found in a suitcase at Los Angeles International Airport.
A March 8 trial date was set for Atsushi Yamagami, 39, and Norihide Ushirozako, 49, who were arrested Jan. 7 at the airport by agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The men, who are being held without bail, are charged with conspiracy, animal smuggling and wildlife trafficking in a three-count federal indictment issued last Friday. If convicted of all charges, they face a maximum penalty of 26 years in federal prison, according to prosecutors.
An investigation — dubbed Operation Flying Turtle — began about a year ago when agents learned about a smuggling operation bringing turtles into the country, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Agents infiltrated the operation in July and purchased 10 protected turtles and tortoises from a person allegedly linked to Yamagami and Ushirozako.
The following month, a man was arrested at Honolulu International Airport carrying 42 turtles and tortoises that were hidden in his checked luggage. Hiroki Uetsuki told investigators that Yamagami had paid him about $1,200 to smuggle the animals into the United States, prosecutors said.
Uetsuki pleaded guilty to a smuggling charge in Hawaii and is expected to be sentenced on Feb. 7 to time served.
“Individuals who engage in the smuggling of protected species are unscrupulous law violators who are motivated solely by profit and status, and clearly have no respect for our ecosystem,” said Erin L. Dean, resident agent in charge of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement.
“Individuals who participate in the illegal take and trade of protected animals are irreparably harming natural populations and, sadly, contributing to the decline of many types of fragile and delicate species worldwide.”
Japanese Men Plead Not Guilty In ‘Operation Flying Turtle’

...and what about those "unscrupulous" media folks that play fast and loose with the facts, pushing special interests' agendas for their like-minded cronies..with their high minded unsupportable opinions...
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer