Man Arrested With 59 Live Snakes In His Clothing
A man has been arrested after allegedly hiding live snakes and lizards in his clothing.
This article is more than 2 years old
A man has been arrested after allegedly hiding live snakes and lizards in his clothing. Jose Manuel Perez was reportedly caught at the San Ysidro Port of Entry and it was soon discovered that he had a multitude of reptile friends. Unfortunately, officers had to arrest the man due to his “pets” not being pets at all, but instead allegedly part of a wildlife trafficking scheme.
According to The San Diego Union Tribune, the alleged trafficking scheme involves capturing very rare Latin American reptile species and smuggling the reptiles to buyers in the United States. Some of the snakes and lizards were reportedly found trapped in bags that the man had on his body in an alleged attempt to hide them from officers. However, according to the publication, this isn’t the first time that Perez has been under investigation by authorities. It’s been reported that Perez has been under investigation for another trafficking scheme that took place in the U.S. Mexico border.
According to Chicago Today, Jose Manuel Perez has been charged with smuggling around 1,700 reptiles and animals, such as turtles and even baby crocodiles. It appears that Perez has been accused of working with wildlife trafficking schemes for some time now. The alleged trafficking scheme has a value of almost $739,000. The publication also went into detail about the list of reptiles and animals that have been part of trafficking schemes for a while in just San Diego alone. Alongside snakes and lizards, other animals that have been saved from wildlife trafficking include tiger cubs and other animals popular with traffickers.
The positive side to all of this is that there are various attempts being made to find ways to prevent the spread of wildlife trafficking. According to The National News, banks are now taking part in the prevention by catching certain transactions involved with wildlife trafficking, collaborating with the UAE. According to the publication, the wildlife trafficking industry is currently worth around $23 billion per year. But it is good to know that there are continuous attempts being made to end wildlife trafficking throughout the globe. According to the publication, Jennifer Croes, Emirates Nature associate director, discussed the importance of this kind of action taking place. Croes stated, “This has a direct threat on human health and international biosecurity. It is a global challenge and all of our concern.” Wildlife trafficking can cause a number of issues, including the spread of disease, and of course, extreme harm to animals and wildlife.
Jose Manuel Perez has been accused of being involved in wildlife trafficking schemes for a long time, and reportedly has even has created fake Facebook profiles in order to prevent himself from being caught by law enforcement. But now that Perez has been arrested in San Diego by border officers, there might be a chance that further investigation will help end this line of wildlife trafficking. Some of the species that Perez was reportedly hiding when he was arrested were three dwarf boas and a Uribe’s false cat-eyed snake, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
