Bet just one can't eat you...
Posted on 09/08/2017 11:22:17 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Rodrigo Franco, 34, admitted to smuggling another 20 or so cobras, as well as sending protected turtles to Hong Kong.
A Monterey Park man who accepted packages containing three highly venomous king cobras coiled up in potato chip canisters pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal wildlife smuggling charge.
Rodrigo Franco, 34, admitted to smuggling another 20 or so cobras, as well as sending protected turtles to Hong Kong, according to his plea agreement. Prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence of no more than 18 months in exchange for the plea.
A Dec. 7 sentencing hearing was set by U.S. District Judge George Wu in downtown Los Angeles.
In early March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspected a package sent from Hong Kong and discovered three live black-and-yellow king cobra snakes -- protected and highly poisonous reptiles -- each 2 feet long.
In addition to the three snakes, the parcel being sent through the mail contained three albino Chinese soft-shelled turtles.
On the same date, Franco also mailed six protected turtles -- desert box turtles, three-toed box turtles and ornate box turtles -- from the United States to Hong Kong, but that shipment also was intercepted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Because of the danger associated with the cobras, the snakes were seized from the package that had come from Hong Kong. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service made a controlled delivery of the soft-shelled turtles to Franco's home. Immediately after the package -- with turtles removed -- was delivered, federal agents executed a search warrant at the residence.
While searching the home, agents found the package that originated in Hong Kong in a children's bedroom, in which they also discovered a tank containing a live baby crocodile and tanks containing alligator snapping turtles, a common snapping turtle, and five diamond back terrapins -- all of which are protected species, according to investigators.
During a subsequent interview with authorities, Franco admitted that he had previously received 20 king cobras in two prior shipments -- but he said all of those snakes had died in transit, federal prosecutors said. During the ensuing investigation, authorities obtained evidence from Franco's phone, which contained messages in which he and someone in Asia allegedly discussed shipping turtles and snakes between the United States and Asia. The messages indicate that Franco had previously received live cobras from his contact in Asia and was going to give five of the snakes to a relative of his contact, according to prosecutors.
The cobras and other reptiles are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement designed to save threatened species from endangerment and illegal trade.
Bet just one can't eat you...
Nothing at all suspicious about sending “potato chips” internationally...
Should have used this can..................he'd get away with it..........
I remember that novelty trick when I was a kid...
They still sell it!..................
Put him and the cobras in a sealed box. Come back a week later.
I wonder where all the cobras are now. Hopefully in a secure place.
Reminds me of the man that smuggled a Black Mamba thru the Little Rock, Ark, airport. They found him a few miles from the airport with an empty box and dead as a door nail from a Mamba bite. They never found the Mamba.
Cobras in a can.
Also serves as a neighborhood warning regarding indoor plumbing.
Answers to the name of "Chips".
That’s ONE WAY to cut down on your junk food cravings!.....................
It most likely froze to death.................
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/
Believe it or not, there is a market for venomous reptiles as pets.
They’re referred to as ‘hots’.
That’s all we need is cobras slithering around along with rattlers, cottonmouth and copperheads.
Next thing you know, we’re Australia. Shoot this guy and make an example of him.
Ought to really put the kibosh on the crunchy salty cravings.
Adds a brand new meaning to “FMCDH”.
I agree.
Why Kobe Bryant agree to be smuggled?
The thrill is the owner might end up a “colds.”
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