smuggled turtles New York Hong Kong.

A man admitted trying to smuggle protected turtles worth more than $1 million from New York City to Hong Kong. They were shipped in boxes labeled “plastic animal toys.” Federal prosecutors say Wei Qiang Lin, a Chinese national who lives in Brooklyn, pleaded guilty Monday to exporting more than 220 parcels containing around 850 eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles. These turtles feature colorful markings and are a “prized feature” in global pet markets. Officers saw them at a border inspection, bound and taped inside knotted socks. Prosecutors say Lin also shipped venomous snakes. He faces up to five years in prison.