A Monterey Park man pleaded guilty Thursday to animal smuggling after customs officers discovered three deadly king cobra snakes hidden in potato chip cans in a package shipped to his home, officials said. In exchange for one shipment, Franco sent a package to Hong Kong with six protected turtles. For months, prosecutors said, Franco used WhatsApp, a smartphone messaging platform, to negotiate shipments of snakes and turtles to and from Hong Kong. In March, authorities intercepted the package with the three deadly snakes along with three albino Chinese soft-shelled turtles. That same day, Franco had attempted to mail six other protected turtles wrapped in socks to Hong Kong.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 08, 2017 02:37 UTC