California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : 12 Fined $27,000 in Animal Smuggling

Twelve people have been fined a total of $27,000 for illegally importing rare and protected snakes, lizards and amphibians from Mexico, federal prosecutors said. One member of the smuggling ring sneaked at least 68 live reptiles--including venomous vipers, Neotropical rattlesnakes, boas, plumed lizards and iguanas--into the United States, prosecutors said. U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents seized 46 live reptiles and 87 preserved ones from the home of David Philip Muth after he allegedly told an undercover agent that the animals were smuggled. Five snakes were South Todos Island king snakes, a species considered extinct until recently, said federal wildlife agent Ken McCloud.