‘Harmless reptiles’ were actually venomous snakes in falsely labeled mail, feds say
A Florida reptile dealer is accused of illegally mailing dozens of reptiles — including venomous snakes — as part of a larger scheme to smuggle the creatures into China, federal authorities say.
Ashtyn Michael Rance, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of Lacey Act Trafficking on Thursday, Nov. 18, months after he was indicted on charges related to shipping the reptiles in mislabeled packages, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Georgia’s Middle District.
Rance also pleaded guilty to being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm after a search of his South Georgia home turned up a rifle and 12-gauge shotgun, prosecutors said.
Under U.S. conservation law, the Lacey Act prohibits the import, export, sale, acquisition or purchase of “fish, wildlife or plants that have been taken, possessed, transported or sold” illegally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website states.
Prosecutors said Rance, who also has ties to South Carolina, was paid $3,300 to mail three eastern box turtles and 16 spotted turtles to a customer in Florida from his home in Valdosta, Georgia, in February 2018. He falsely labeled the boxes as containing “live tropical fish,” knowing there were turtles inside, according to a news release.
The package’s final destination was to China, prosecutors said.
Rance mailed a similar package from Georgia to Florida on May 10, 2018, this one containing 15 venomous Gaboon vipers in a box labeled as “harmless reptiles,” prosecutors said. That package was also ultimately headed to China.
The Gaboon viper is native to East, West and Central Africa, and while bites to humans are rare, they can be fatal, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo. They also boast “the longest fangs of any venomous snake,” measuring up to 2 inches.
“Trafficking venomous or endangered wildlife through the mail clearly puts the delivery couriers and the public at risk and can harm the boxed animals,” Peter D. Leary, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, said in a statement. “Our office will enforce Lacey Act law put in place to protect the public and our nation’s wildlife.”
Rance faces five and 10 years in prison for the wildlife trafficking and gun charges, respectively, and a $250,000 fine per charge.
A sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 23, 2022, in Valdosta, authorities said.
Valdosta is about 120 miles northwest of Jacksonville, Florida.
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