Canadian man facing charges after being caught with 51 live turtles stuffed down his pants

Friday, September 26, 2014, 5:59 PM - A Canadian man is facing charges after being caught at the U.S./Canadian border with 51 live turtles stuffed down his pants.

According to U.S. federal court documents, Mr. Kai Xu, 26, was stopped as he attempted to cross into Windsor, Ont. from Detroit in August.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say he had 41 turtles taped to his legs and 10 hidden between them.

The turtles -- which included different species including eastern box turtles, red-eared sliders and diamondback terrapins -- were returned to U.S. authorities.

Xu and Toronto-area resident Lihua Lin, 30, were in court in Detroit Thursday. Xu was charged with smuggling, illegal trading and exporting and could face up to 10 years in prison.

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Federal agents described him as a "known reptile smuggler".

He is scheduled to appear in Detroit's bail court Friday. Meanwhile, Lin has been released on $10,000 bail.

In Canada, many species of turtles are endangered -- largely due to reptile smuggling for the pet trade.

While there are strict government sanctions in place, pet-trade poaching continues to be a growing concern with devastating ecological impacts.

 "The illegal harvest of turtles from the wild is not a new phenomenon, but it has undergone significant growth recently due to the huge popularity in Canada and North America of keeping reptiles as pets," Mike Rutter, an intelligence investigative specialist with the Ministry of Natural Resources, told the Haliburton Echo in 2011.

"Due to the long life and slow reproduction of wild turtles, organized poachers can decimate a local population of turtles very quickly," he told the Echo. "In the case of any of Ontario's endangered turtles ...one poaching event has the potential to virtually eliminate an area's entire population."

What you can do to help

• Preserve plant, insect, reptile and amphibian species by maintaining wetlands on your property.
• When choosing a pet, refuse to buy endangered or threatened turtle species, or turtles that have been poached from the wild.