Flight attendant pleads guilty to trying to smuggle turtles out of L.A.
Federal prosecutors say a flight attendant for a Chinese airline has pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle nearly two dozen spotted and box turtles in a carry-on bag from Los Angeles to China.
The U.S. attorney’s office says Huaqian Qu, a Chinese national, entered his plea Thursday to a charge of conspiracy. He faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced July 23.
Officials say Qu and a fellow flight crew member with China Eastern Airlines tried to unlawfully export a total of 45 turtles that are protected under international trade law. The turtles could have been worth more than $40,000 in Asia.
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![LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 - Bertha Gomez, right, and her son David Gomez, the new owners of La Golondrina Cafe, stand inside the famed restaurant that remains closed on Olvera Street in El Pueblo de Los Angeles on September 28, 2023. The Gomez' have not been able to open the business because of a damaged sewer line into the building. La Golondrina Cafe]has been closed since March 2020. They are locked in a lawsuit with the city, because they claim that the city is responsible for the repairs, while the city argues otherwise. The Board of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Authority Commission on Thursday oversaw a hearing and decided that the Gomez' should be evicted from the location, nearly 95 years after the business first opened. The previous owners were the original family who started the business and it's considered one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the city. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d453f81/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6720x4480+0+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F44%2F88%2Fe2b72d1641ec8c2de63a02da4ef8%2F1353501-me-0928-la-golondrina-cafe-gem-001.jpg)
