Man fined $35,000 for illegally importing turtles in boxes labelled 'children's building blocks'

Two years after border officials discovered live turtles, turtle eggs and equipment to breed turtles in packages marked as "children's building blocks," a Calgary man has been fined $35,000 for the illegal importation and sale of the specimens after admitting to federal offences.

Zhongmin Zheng, 42, pleaded guilty last week to two charges under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of Interprovincial Trade Act.

The investigation that led to the charges involved turtles covertly marked with UV ink and an undercover wildlife officer posing as a Canada Post employee.

The reptile racket was uncovered on May 24, 2022, when the Canada Border Services Agency found two boxes of live turtles at a Canada Post mail centre in Mississauga, Ont.

Details of the offences come from an agreed statement of facts filed as part of Zheng's guilty pleas in court last week.

The packages had arrived from China and were addressed to Zheng's Calgary home

Wildlife officers from Environment and Climate Change Canada were called in.

Declared as 'children's building blocks'

The investigation revealed that between Jan. 1 and May 23, 2022, Zheng had imported eight packages from China, declared as "children's building blocks."

Two packages had been delivered to Zheng's home, two were at the Mississauga facility, three were en route to Alberta and one was still en route from China.

The shipments arrived in cooler boxes and Tupperware containers.

Investigators obtained search warrants and examined the packages held at the Mississauga and Calgary mail centres. Inside the shipments, they discovered turtles, eggs, turtle stickers and "various items identified as being needed for turtle husbandry."

One package had freshly hatched turtles. Another contained a dead turtle.

Wildlife officer goes undercover with UV-inked turtles

None of the shipments contained permits from Canada or China.

Environment Canada officers then applied a unique number to each turtle and egg using UV ink visible only with the use of a UV light.

Investigators also obtained an order requiring Canada Post employees to "provide all reasonable assistance" to conduct a "controlled delivery."

On May 27, 2022, an undercover wildlife officer posing as a delivery person rang the doorbell at Zheng's home in the northwest Calgary community of Scenic Acres.

A woman answered, identified herself as Zheng's wife and handed the packages to her husband.

Three hours later, officers arrested Zheng for illegal importation and possession of the turtles.

Calgary Zoo helps out

The investigators then carried out a search warrant on Zheng's home.

They seized 53 live turtles, 33 eggs and two dead turtles — all of which were in the basement.

Investigators noted a "strong ammonia smell."

"The water in the terrariums was a yellow-brown colour and contained suspended solid waste," according to the agreed statement of facts.

Officers found the UV-inked turtles, which had been taken out of the shipping packaging and placed with other turtles in various terrariums.

The seized turtles and eggs were brought to the Calgary Zoo, which set up spaces designed for reptiles, with temperature and humidity controls.

Kijiji ads for turtles 

The zoo kept one eastern box turtle and one pink-bellied side-necked turtle while the others were donated to Canada's Dinosaur Park and Reptile Sanctuary in Indian River, Ont.

Zoo officials noted some of the turtles had small bite wounds on their necks but otherwise "had no significant health abnormalities."

The seized eggs were euthanized "by being plunged in liquid nitrogen."

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Some of the turtles and eggs were determined to fall into a category of "species not necessarily threatened with extinction but in which trade must be controlled" under the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species.

Through further investigation, officers discovered Zheng had 10 active Kijiji ads selling turtles.

3 years to pay fine 

Each turtle sold for between $100 and $300 with buyers in several provinces.

Forensic searches of Zheng's electronic devices showed he had sold snapping turtles, an eastern mud turtle, a red cheeked mud turtle, a common musk turtle, a razorback musk turtle and 10 golden thread turtles.

In an interview with officers, Zheng said he'd been importing turtles since 2021 and disclosed that sometimes the turtles died from fighting or temperature and humidity issues.

He also admitted he knew selling snapping turtles was illegal.

After hearing the plea, negotiated by defence lawyer Greg Dunn and prosecutor Omelia Tedesco-White, Justice Bruce Fraser gave Zheng three years to pay his $35,000 fine.

Zheng is banned from owning any live animal for two years.