Houston Man Convicted of Smuggling Snakes
A Houston man was convicted Wednesday of smuggling five protected green tree pythons from Indonesia through Los Angeles International Airport, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Jeffrey Allen Doth, 32, testified that he had not tried to hide the foot-long juvenile pythons in a stocking under his clothing, but that he wanted to keep the reptiles warm and avoid paying an extra airline fare, said Assistant U.S. Atty. William W. Carter.
The snakes, protected under international treaty as a threatened species, could have sold for as much as $2,000 each, authorities said.
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