U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Special agents of the U.S.F.W.S. have arrested 6 persons charged with crimes related to the illegal importation of internationally protected cycads.
Cycads, which resemble palms or tree ferns, are a small group of primitive-looking plants whose ancestors date back in excess of 200 million years. Certain species face threats in the wild from habitat loss and over-collection.
Cycads are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) - a treaty through which the U.S. and in excess of 150 other countries regulate global business in imperiled animals and plants. Many of the smuggled cycad species are listed on Appendix I of the treaty and generally cannot be commercially traded. Any international movement requires permits from both the exporting and importing countries. The smuggled plants also include some Appendix II species, which require permits from the country of origin certifying that trade represents no threat to the survival of wild populations.
Peter H. Heibloem, 47, of Queensland, Australia, and Ernest J. Bouwer, 56, of Sandton, South Africa, arrested on Friday, July 20, are charged with 15 counts of conspiracy, smuggling, and making false statements in an indictment unsealed that day in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
According to the indictment, Heibloem, Bouwer, and 3 others charged - John H. Baker of Gauteng, South Africa, Ian S. Turner of Harare, Zimbabwe, and Rolf Kyburz, of Queensland, Australia - sent approximately $542,000 worth of protected cycads to the U.S. from South Africa, Australia, and Zimbabwe. The indictment alleges that the men used invalid CITES permits for the shipments and falsely labeled many of the plants shipped to cover up the lack of a valid permit. Baker, Turner, and Kyburz remain at large outside the United States.
Also charged in the indictment and arrested on Friday, July 20, is Donald Joseph Wiener, 64, of Mexico. He is alleged to have knowingly purchased approximately $200,000 worth of these plants from Heibloem.
Rolf D. Bauer, 44, of Johannesburg, South Africa, and Jan Van Vuuren, 54, of Centurion, South Africa, also arrested on Friday, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and making false statements in a separate 29-count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. According to the indictment, these 2 men sent in excess of $300,000 worth of protected cycads to the U.S. from South Africa. They allegedly used invalid CITES permits for the commercial shipments and falsely labeled many of the plants to cover up the lack of a valid permit.
Jose "Pepe" Portilla, 34, of Ecuador, was also arrested on Friday, July 20. Charged with smuggling in a one-count complaint in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Portilla allegedly sent ten protected cycads into the United States.
The Service investigation also resulted in charges against 3 individuals accused of trafficking in protected orchids. Antonius Juniarto of Surabaya, Indonesia, and Iwan Kolopaking of Jakarta, Indonesia, have been indicted in the Northern District of California on 21 counts of conspiracy, smuggling, and false statements related to the shipment of CITES Appendix I orchids into the U.S. from Indonesia. Both remain at large. According to the indictment, the 2 men sent multiple packages of orchids through the mail with customs declarations falsely identifying the contents as toys. A separate indictment in the Northern District of California charges Terence Leung of Hong Kong with 4 counts of smuggling related to shipments of CITES Appendix II orchids from Hong Kong into the United States. Leung also remains at large.
The maximum penalty for each of the charges against these men is 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An indictment contains allegations against an individual, and all defendants must be presumed innocent of the charges against them unless they are convicted.
The federal probe into the international trade in protected species of cycads and orchids was conducted by special agents from the U.S.F.W.S. with assistance from the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Office of Inspector General, as well as the Endangered Species Protection Unit of the South African Police, Australian Customs, and Environment Australia. The cases are being prosecuted by the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
The U.S.F.W.S. is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses in excess of 535 National wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 Countrywide fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid plan that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
- FWS -
For more information about the U.S.F.W.S., visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov
