Man accused of smuggling 315 endangered turtles to China, with Eugene co-conspirator

EUGENE, Ore. — A man from Shanghai pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for directing a scheme to smuggle more than 300 endangered turtles to China from the United States with help from a co-conspirator in Eugene.

The Eugene resident has not been indicted yet.

Xiao Dong Qin, 34, of Shanghai, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to smuggle goods from the United States. He will be sentenced Feb. 27 at the federal courthouse in Eugene.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, since at least May 2017, Qin had directed the Eugene resident to purchase more than 300 live turtles from reptile dealers in Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina and South Carolina. All of the turtles purchased and smuggled were protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

According to the indictment, the Eugene resident posted advertisements on a reptile website in May 2017, September 2017 and January 2018 looking to purchase a large quantity of turtles. In January 2018, authorities served a search warrant on the Eugene resident’s email account and banking information, which showed one August transaction for $57,000 to $67,000 worth of turtles, shipped from Florida to Los Angeles.

In November 2018, the Eugene resident was arrested, and told investigators he met Qin in 2017 in New York. According to the indictment, they agreed Qin would pay the Eugene resident for the total cost of the live turtles plus a 10% buyer’s fee.

Over the next two years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated Qin and discovered than in 13 months, Qin facilitated the purchase and transportation of approximately 136 Florida box turtles, 76 eastern box turtles, 57 North American wood turtles, 20 spotted turtles, 18 diamond back terrapins, seven yellow-blotched map turtles, and one Blanding’s turtle. The market value of the turtles totaled more than $250,000 in the Chinese pet trade, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

In February, Qin was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport by federal fish and wildlife agents when he arrived from Shanghai.

Qin faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

As part of his plea agreement, Qin has agreed to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution to rehabilitation facilities near Chicago and San Antonio and The Turtle Conservancy near Los Angeles for costs associated with the care of the turtles intercepted by law enforcement.

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