Chinese flight attendants charged with smuggling turtles
A Chinese flight crew member has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of attempting to smuggle turtles out of the US.
China Eastern Airlines employees Huaqian Qu admitted to unlawfully attempting to export turtles out of Los Angeles to China.
The spotted and box turtles are protected by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species.
Qu was caught last month with the illegal contraband in carry-on baggage when working a return trip to Shanghai out of LAX.
The charge could result in up to five years in prison.
Court documents stated the turtles could be worth more than $40,000 in Asia.
Qu and colleague Renfeng Gao allegedly had 45 turtles when caught by a random TSA screening of their bags.
Gao is also expected to plead guilty.
Qu was also suspected of smuggling a dozen turtles earlier this year on a China-bound flight.
"Neither defendant Qu nor anyone else had obtained the required export permit for these protected turtles or filed a declaration for exporting these animals," a Los Angeles federal court heard.
A sentencing hearing will take place next month.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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