(CN) — A Southern California man was accused of smuggling more than 1,700 reptiles into the United States from Mexico. Jose Manuel Perez, 30, was charged on Thursday with nine counts of smuggling goods into the U.S. and two counts of wildlife trafficking.
According to the charging document, Perez was crossing the border last month when a border patrol officer asked him if he had anything to declare for customs. Perez said he did not. After being referred for a secondary inspection, Perez admitted that yes, he had some animals but they were his pets. At the time, Perez had about 60 reptiles concealed inside his clothes, including 38 lizards and four Isthmian dwarf boas. He was arrested soon after.
Perez's sister, 25-year-old Stephany Perez, is also charged in the indictment with conspiracy. Both have been living in Oxnard, California.
For the last six years, the Pererz siblings, along with three other co-conspirators, have allegedly smuggled in an array of reptiles and amphibians from Mexico and Hong Kong into the U.S., including Yucatan box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican beaded lizards.
Social media played a key role in the enterprise. Jose Perez used social media to both buy and sell the animals. He advertised his creatures with photos and videos and used mobile platforms to haggle with customers, accept payments and even at times defend himself from accusations of unethical behavior. Perez was surprisingly open about both his criminal operation and his belief that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing.
In February 2021, according to the charging document, "after a potential buyer accused [Perez] of offering wild-caught reptiles from Mexico for sale, [Perez] responded that the animals were being saved from deforestation in Mexico so the animals were doomed anyway and should be enjoyed by [Perez's] customers."
On an online forum devoted to Abronia lizards, Perez defended himself against those who had criticized reptile smuggling, writing that such naysayers "have no business keeping Abronia when you have something [negative] to say about smuggled animals. Doesn’t matter if yours were born in captivity. The parents more than likely were smuggled isn’t that pretty much the same. If it wasn’t for the guys that smuggled bearded dragons we wouldn’t have all these morphs and endless supply of bearded dragons.”
Last month, Perez posted photos of reptiles for sale on social media, according to the charging papers, and wrote that he was selling “rare and uncommon and overlooked animals with a big focus on Mexican animals.” He added: "As long as you are not openly knowingly buying smuggled animals there is not a single thing that [law enforcement] can do about it. There’s no need for clear paperwork forms for any reptile in the hobby. Sure it helps some people feel better about buying but all we are doing is making unnecessary problems for our already unreasonable regulated hobby.”
According to the charging document, the 1,700 reptiles and amphibians Perez is accused of smuggling have "a total market value exceeding $739,000."
Perez has been in jail since his arrest on Feb. 25. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each smuggling count and five years in prison for each wildlife trafficking count. He's also charged with one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.
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