Anaheim couple get probation for role in wildlife trafficking

An Anaheim couple were each sentenced Friday to three years of probation and fined $10,000 for helping traffic protected wildlife parts between Oregon and Vietnam, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. Linh Luu and Kevin Le pleaded guilty in federal court in Eugene to violating the Lacey Act.

The case connects the Anaheim residents to an international wildlife trade involving bear gallbladders, rhinoceros horn and a tiger pelt. Their role included handling payments for shipments that lacked required permits, according to the Justice Department account reported by ABC7 Los Angeles.

According to court documents cited by ABC7 Los Angeles, Luu and Le handled $51,100 in payments between September 2019 and May 2021 to help a person in Vietnam illegally move wildlife items between that country and Oregon.

The shipments to Vietnam included American black bear gallbladders and cougar bones. Items brought into Oregon included lion teeth, a tiger pelt and pieces of horn from black and white rhinoceroses, the report said.

A government sentencing memorandum described a December 2020 meeting in a parking lot where the couple accepted $12,000 in cash from an undercover federal agent as a down payment for a rhinoceros horn segment. Each later received nearly $5,000 in electronic payments for the segment, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The horn segment was sent to Oregon disguised as a household decoration. The couple also discussed ways to avoid banking rules that could flag illegal transactions, and prosecutors said the sale was meant to establish trust for larger deals.

The Justice Department said the wildlife involved falls under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Lions, tigers and both rhinoceros species also receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Lacey Act prohibits buying or selling wildlife that was imported or exported illegally, among other conduct.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement led the investigation, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Oregon State Police, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.