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HUNTSVILLE TIMES (Alabama) 17 April 05 No more shell games (Alan Clemons)
'Operation Snapper' nets 7 arrests, including Guntersville commercial angler
A Guntersville man is one of seven Alabama residents charged with multiple violations of state laws involving the illegal possession and sale of turtles to breeders involved with an international poaching network.
The breeders, many of whom are based in Louisiana, considered a major hub of the nation's illegal turtle trade, would raise the turtles and then sell them or their offspring to pet stores, collectors, meat distributors and overseas in Asia and Europe. The undercover investigation is ongoing, with indictments and arrests expected in a nationwide sweep that could include as many as 50 more people.
Aarion Ray Tucker, 39, of Guntersville has been charged with five counts of taking illegal species of turtles. Tucker also is licensed by the state as a commercial angler to operate gill nets. He pleaded guilty in Morgan County last February for two commercial fishing violations in Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge waters.
"Operation Snapper" involved enforcement officers with the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources working with enforcement officials in four other Southeastern states, undercover officers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local agencies. Officials have been building the case for at least two years, if not longer, in an attempt to infiltrate the widespread network.
The seven Alabama residents, who range in age from 25 to 80 years old, face a total of 65 counts. If convicted, they face fines up to $500 and six months in jail for each count.
None of the seven are charged with violating the federal Lacey Act, which involves interstate wildlife transportation and carries stiffer penalties.
However, officials are expected to soon indict or arrest about 50 other people across the country. Approximately 40 may face felony or misdemeanor charges of the Lacey Act, while about 10 others will face lesser state violations in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.
The seven Alabama people arrested caught more than 7,000 red-eared sliders, river cooters, mud, musk, painted and box turtles. An additional 30,000 pounds of common snapping turtle and 2,500 pounds of soft-shell turtles also were caught. Conservation department officials said the "vast majority" of the turtles were legally caught and sold, but about 340 were illegally caught and sold in violation of state or federal laws. The seven made more than $30,000 from sales of legal and ilegal turtles.
The suspects were arrested, without incident, based on warrants from the investigation. The two oldest suspects, 67-year-old Robert Hall and 80-year-old William Davis Lehr, both of Anniston, are considered by state officials to be the major ringleaders. The turtles were caught on various state waterways, including Lake Guntersville, with wire traps or hoop nets in shallow waters baited with fish or chicken.
Once captured, state officials said, the turtles were sold to turtle farms in Lousiana, Arkansas and Florida. Farmers would keep breeding size turtles in special ponds that prevented their escape, collect the eggs laid by females, incubate them and then sell the hatchlings to buyers in Asia, Europe and throughout the United States.
Turtle meat, prized by restaurants primarily for soups, is sold domestcally and overseas. Asian interests are among the main buyers of turtle meat, along with restaurants in the United States. Smaller turtles were sold to pet stores or over the Internet to collectors. Officials say pet stores are not being targeted for any involvement in the network.
http://www.al.com/outdoors/huntsvilletimes/aclemons.ssf?/base/sports/111372951542020.xml