An Oxnard, California man has received a 65-month federal prison sentence for his role in a years-long reptile trafficking ring that moved more than 1,700 animals across U.S. borders.
Jose Manuel Perez was sentenced on May 29 after pleading guilty back in August 2022 to one count of smuggling goods into the United States and one count of wildlife trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The animals he and his co-conspirators moved carried a combined value exceeding $739,000.
The operation ran from January 2016 through February 2022, moving animals from Mexico, Hong Kong, and other locations. Among the species trafficked were Mexican beaded lizards, baby crocodiles and Yucatán box turtles.
None of the shipments were declared at the U.S. border, and Perez's group never obtained the permits required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Prosecutors said the network bypassed every legal checkpoint designed to protect wildlife.
Social media served as the operation's marketplace. Perez and his associates used online platforms to source animals, negotiate prices, and arrange deliveries inside the United States. They also posted photos and videos showing the reptiles being taken directly from the wild, effectively advertising the illegal stock to buyers.
Perez’s case also connects to a 2022 arrest where attempted to re-enter the US while hiding reptiles in all sorts of places, including his groin area. He claimed at the time that they were his pets.
At the time of his recent sentencing, Perez was already serving nine years in federal prison after he pled guilty in May 2023 to multiple counts of being a felon in possession of firearms.
