Man Arrested for Allegedly Trafficking in Bear Parts

A Rosemead businessman was arrested Thursday for allegedly purchasing large volumes of bear parts, culminating a 1 1/2-year undercover investigation of an illegal wildlife trafficking operation that California agents say is the largest they have seen.

Officials from the California Department of Fish and Game said Joseph S. Chang, 39, purchased bear gallbladders from undercover wildlife wardens three times in the past five months, including 164 gallbladders worth an estimated $715,000 on Thursday.

Chang allegedly was involved in a trading operation encompassing four Western states. Gallbladders were taken from American black bears in Colorado, Utah and Alaska, and brought to Los Angeles for distribution and sale in Asia, according to Fish and Game wardens.

The arrest is the second in the Los Angeles area this year concerning trafficking of the bear gallbladders, which are coveted in Asian nations as a medicine to treat high blood pressure, stomach problems and other ailments. Hollywood businessman William Jin Taek Lee, 35, earlier was fined $10,000 after allegedly running an illegal hunting club to collect and sell the bear parts.

Wildlife agents say the cases show that Los Angeles is a major hub for distributing bear gallbladders, which fetch $265 per gram. The inquiry included undercover agents from the California wildlife agency as well as from Colorado, Alaska, Utah, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Chang is “a very, very big dealer in animal parts,” said Fish and Game Lt. Eddie Watkins, who oversees the special operations unit.

Watkins said Chang told the undercover agents he had previously made purchases of as many as 500 bear gallbladders at a time. Each sells for $2,000 to $5,000 in California and as much as $100,000 in Asia.