Man accused of smuggling 1,700 reptiles

A Southern California man is accused of smuggling more than 1,700 reptiles — including Mexican spotted lizards and baby alligators — into the United States since 2016, authorities said Thursday.

José Manuel Pérez, also known as “Julio Rodríguez”, was arrested on February 25 at the San Ysidro port of entry, on the border with Mexico.

Border Patrol agents found about 60 lizards and snakes inside small bags, “which were hidden in the man’s jacket, pants pockets and groin area,” authorities reported last month. Perez allegedly told officers that the animals were his pets.

Perez, 30, of Oxnard, has been in federal custody ever since, and federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced additional charges Thursday in a superseding indictment that also lists Perez’s sister as a co-defendant.

Perez will be arraigned Monday in Los Angeles. His federal attorney in San Diego did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some of the smuggled reptiles were protected or endangered species, authorities said.

As of January 2016, Pérez and his sister, among others, are accused of using social networks to buy and sell wildlife in the United States. The animals, including Yucatan box turtles and Mexican box turtles, were apparently imported from Mexico and Hong Kong without proper permits.

The reptiles were originally brought to Perez’s residence in Missouri, but were later shipped to Oxnard once he moved to California, according to authorities. His sister helped him in his smuggling business, prosecutors say, particularly during the time Pérez was incarcerated in the United States.

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