Man Accused of Selling Almost 2,000 Protected Turtles Overseas

Summary:

ANGIE, LA – A Louisiana man has been federally indicted in a large-scale turtle poaching and trafficking operation that illegally removed more than 1,800 protected turtles from Florida and sold them overseas for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Prosecutors allege Albert Bazaar, formerly of Angie, Louisiana, ran a multiyear operation that falsely labeled wild-caught turtles as captive-bred so they could be exported to Asia, where rare turtles can fetch high prices in the exotic pet trade. The indictment, unsealed in San Francisco on May 7, is part of a broader federal crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking in the southeastern United States.

A federal magistrate judge in Phoenix ordered Bazaar held in custody following his arrest, according to the Department of Justice. If convicted, Bazaar faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each conspiracy count and Lacey Act violation which prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally taken, transported or sold.

According to federal prosecutors, Bazaar allegedly poached and sold more than 1,700 loggerhead musk turtles, 100 stripe-neck musk turtles and 15 striped mud turtles between January 2022 and December 2023. Authorities said the turtles were illegally collected from their native habitats in Florida before being exported from San Francisco to Taiwan. The turtles were allegedly falsely labeled as captive-bred in order to obtain export permits. Prosecutors said the reptiles were worth more than $550,000 in the Asian pet trade.

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