Windsor man charged with hiding 51 turtles on body in bizarre smuggling case
Agents at Detroit-Windsor crossing found man had 'irregularly shaped bulges' in his pants
A Windsor man is facing smuggling charges in Canada and the United States after he was found with 51 turtles strapped to his body trying to enter Canada through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel in early August.
The man was found with a variety of Eastern box turtles, Red-eared sliders and Diamondback Terrapins taped to his body.
He's facing U.S. charges of smuggling goods, trade in endangered species and exporting wildlife. He's also facing Canadian charges of smuggling.
On Aug. 5, the United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) was notified by a UPS office of a package being held for pick-up, labelled "live fish keep cool."
USFWS agents waited in the parking lot for the man to arrive.
According to court documents, agents saw him enter the UPS location, leave with the package and place it in the trunk of his Ford Escape.
Agents testified they saw him transfer the contents into small plastic bags. He then went between two UPS trucks and emerged with "irregularly shaped bulges" under his sweat pants.
Agents followed him to towards the Detroit-Windsor border crossing.
His vehicle was stopped by Canada Border Services Agency and was sent for secondary inspection.
He was found with 41 turtles strapped to his legs and another 10 hidden between his legs.
Man accused in 2nd turtle-smuggling case
It turns out that the same man was also named in another more recent turtle-smuggling case.
USFWS agents say he picked up several boxes of live turtles from a Federal Express location in Michigan earlier this week.
Court documents said after the man picked up the boxes, he drove to a hotel and brought them to his hotel room.
Agents said they saw him return with another man. That man was scheduled to fly to Shanghai, China. He was dropped off at the airport and checked two pieces of luggage.
USFWS agents inspected the luggage and found more than 200 North American pond turtles inside.
He was arrested and charged.