Brooklyn man Wei Qiang Lin confessed to sending 850 turtles valued at $1.4 million to Hong Kong.

The reptiles were packed into more than 220 boxes labeled “plastic animal toys” when they were intercepted during a border inspection, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Authorities said the turtles would’ve traveled for weeks bound and taped inside knotted socks within their shipping containers. Lin is accused of sending those parcels between August 2023 and November 2024.

He also attempted to move nearly a dozen shipments filled with reptiles including poisonous snakes, but he mainly dealt in eastern box and three-toed box turtles that are coveted in China and Hong Kong because of their colorful markings.

Both species are native to the U.S. and protected by the international

See Full Page