HOLIDAY, Fla. — A Florida man pleaded guilty to illegally trafficking live water monitor lizards from the Philippines.
Akbar Akram, 44, admitted in court to bringing more than 20 live monitor lizards to the United States between January and December 2016 in socks.
Court documents said Akram would have the lizards put in socks, seal them with tape and put them inside electronic equipment and ship them with fake labels so they wouldn’t be found.
As part of his plea deal, Akram said he knew the lizards he was getting shipped to him were taken from the Philippines illegally and broke the law by importing them the U.S.
“Akram violated Philippine law and U.S. law by illegally trafficking live water monitor lizards,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who flout federal laws and seek to profit from trafficking protected species.”
Water monitor lizards are a protected species.
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