By Alexandra Mendoza
A California couple pleaded guilty in Federal Court to smuggling 911 endangered sea turtle eggs from Mexico into the United States.
These eggs are sought-after in Asian markets, where they are considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac.
Because the sea turtle is a protected species, its eggs can be sold for $100 to $300 apiece. According to the Southern California District Attorney’s Office, trafficking of marine species can be as lucrative as drug smuggling.
“We owe it to the next generations to protect our environmental legacy, and protecting biodiversity is a vital part of that legacy”, expressed San Diego District Attorney Laura Duffy.
According to official documents, in November 2014 Hemet resident Olga Jimenez travelled from Nayarit, Mexico to the Tijuana border with a large cooler containing 911 sea turtle eggs.
Her husband, Jose Luis Jimenez, was waiting for her at the Tijuana Bus Depot, where the couple transferred the eggs into two smaller coolers, concealing the eggs under layers of ice and other seafood. The coolers were then to be entered into the U.S. by a third person, who was apparently unaware what was actually hidden inside.
The couple admitted to the court that trafficking these eggs was a business for them, and that the eggs were harvested and transported without authorization, and then sold without an invoice indicating the product’s origin.
As part of pleading guilty, the couple agreed to forfeit the eggs and pay the Mexican government up to $9,000 in restitution for having taken a protected species.
The couple stated that these were Olive Ridley and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle eggs, both native to the Gulf of Mexico and highly endangered.
Between 1978 and 1981, these turtle species were listed in the Convention on International Trade in Protected Species (CITES), making their sale illegal without prior consent by the corresponding countries.
“Taking action against those who violate laws that protect threatened and endangered marine species will always be one of our highest priorities”, stressed NOAA representative Eileen Sobeck.
With a guilty plea, Olga and Jose will learn their sentence in May, which could be up to 20 years in prison.
Federal authorities have noticed an increase in trafficking of protected species into the U.S. in recent years. In 2013, the D.A.’s office stated that 500 totoaba – a marine species endemic to the Gulf of California – swim bladders had been seized in recent years at land ports of entry.
It is estimated that totoaba smugglers paid close to $1,500 apiece for these bladders in Mexico, which were then sold for as much as $5,000 in the U.S. The bladder is used in a Chinese soup that some believe helps with fertility, circulation, and the skin.