Man Pleads Guilty After Being Caught Smuggling 850 Turtles Worth $1.4 Million in Socks into Hong Kong By Becca Longmire

A Chinese man is facing jail after pleading guilty to exporting parcels containing around 850 turtles worth approximately $1.4 million to Hong Kong, authorities have said.

On Monday, Aug. 11, Wei Qiang Lin, of Brooklyn, New York, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York after being accused of “falsely labeling live turtles as fake toys prior to exporting them in delivery boxes on a weeks-long journey to Hong Kong,” per a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.

Court records stated that “between August 2023 and November 2024, Lin exported to Hong Kong approximately 222 parcels containing around 850 turtles, but he labeled the boxes as containing ‘plastic animal toys,’ among other things,” the release noted. 

Authorities added that the approximate market value of the turtles was $1.4 million.

Law enforcement officials “intercepted the turtles during a border inspection and observed them bound and taped inside knotted socks within the shipping boxes,” per the release, which added that Lin had “also exported 11 other parcels filled with reptiles, including venomous snakes.”

Lin primarily shipped eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles, which are native U.S. species featuring colorful markings.

The markings make the animals “a prized feature in the domestic and foreign pet market, particularly in China and Hong Kong,” the release stated.

The DOJ added of the two breeds, “Both are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a result of the illegal export of tens of thousands of box turtles every year during the 1990s.”

The suspect “faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the illegal activity,” per the release. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 23.

“As part of his plea, Lin also agreed to abandon any property interest in the reptiles seized during the investigation,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.

The guilty plea comes after Chinese national, Sai Keung Tin, also known as Ricky Tin, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in March “for his role in smuggling protected turtles from the United States to Hong Kong,” the DOJ said in a press release at the time. 

“Tin pleaded guilty in December to four counts of exporting merchandise contrary to law,” the release noted, adding that the eastern box turtles were estimated to be worth around $2,000 each.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.  

“According to the government’s filed sentencing memorandum and evidence presented during [the] hearing, Tin, a Chinese citizen, aided and abetted turtle smugglers in the United States from February 2018 to June 2023,” the DOJ said. 

“During that time, Tin trafficked approximately 2,100 turtles to three addresses in Hong Kong for the illegal Asian pet trade,” the previous release added, stating that Tin’s packages had been “falsely labeled as containing almonds and chocolate cookies.”