A federal magistrate judge in Phoenix ordered Albert Bazaar held in custody following his arrest on charges relating to trafficking turtles. The court unsealed an indictment from San Francisco charging Bazaar, formerly of Angie, Louisiana, on conspiracy and Lacey Act violations. A status conference will be held on May 14 in Phoenix.
The indictment alleges that between January 2022 and December 2023, Bazaar poached and sold over 1,700 loggerhead musk turtles, 100 stripe-neck musk turtles, and 15 striped mud turtles from their native habitats in Florida. Florida law protects fresh and marine turtle species from unregulated harvest. The indictment charges Bazaar with aiding and abetting a co-conspirator who exported the turtles from San Francisco to Taiwan, falsely claiming they were captive-bred to obtain export permits. The turtles are estimated to be worth more than $550,000 in the Asian pet trade.
The indictment describes eight transactions where Bazaar sold illegally collected turtles to the San Francisco exporter. The exporter financed Bazaar’s poaching trips from Louisiana to Florida, including sending money so Bazaar could buy a boat and van. Bazaar is charged with creating a declaration of captive bred wildlife that falsely stated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that the turtles were lawfully bred in Alabama and Georgia.
The federal Lacey Act criminalizes selling or transporting wildlife in interstate commerce that was taken in violation of state law. It is also a Lacey Act violation to provide false information relating to wildlife involved in international or interstate commerce. Loggerhead musk turtles, stripe-neck musk turtles, and striped mud turtles are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The United States and 184 other governments are signatories to the CITES treaty, which restricts international wildlife sales without a permit to support sustainable trade.
If convicted, Bazaar faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 fine on each of the conspiracy and Lacey Act charges. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California, and Assistant Director Doug Ault, USFWS Office of Law Enforcement, announced the arrest and charges.
Bazaar was investigated and charged as part of the USFWS Operation Southern Hot Herps, which was a joint federal and state law enforcement operation to detect and deter turtle poachers in the southeastern United States. Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources worked closely with USFWS in the investigation.
Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Chambers for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.