California couple trafficked lion teeth, rhino horn in illegal wildlife trading ring

A California couple has been busted for helping run an international wildlife trafficking ring that moved rhino horns, lion teeth and other animal parts between the US and Vietnam.

Linh Luu and Kevin Le, an Anaheim couple, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Oregon to violating the Lacey Act, which bars illegal wildlife imports and exports.

The couple each got three years of probation and a $10,000 fine for their roles in the scheme, the Justice Department said.

“According to court documents and statements made in court, Luu and Le admitted that from September 2019 through May 2021, they processed $51,100 in payments to aid an individual in Vietnam to illegally move wildlife items to and from Oregon,” the DOJ said.

The operation shipped American black bear gallbladders and cougar bones to Vietnam while bringing lion teeth, rhino horns and a tiger pelt into Oregon.

In December 2020, Luu and Le met with an undercover federal agent and accepted $12,000 for a rhino horn, while discussing ways to dodge US banking regulations, prosecutors said.

The pair later each received about $5,000 for the horn parts, which were “shipped to Oregon disguised as a household decoration.”

The trafficked animal parts are covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, an international agreement designed to regulate wildlife trade and protect threatened species.

The Lacey Act, enacted in 1900, also prohibits the illegal import and export of wildlife.

This comes as three men pleaded guilty in early-October for illegally hunting wild bobcats in order to ship their pelts to Canada.

The men routinely used bait to lure and kill the animals, then “transported the poached bobcat pelts to New York to be falsely tagged and exported to Canada,” according to the DOJ.

In August, a woman was arrested at the US-Mexico border after authorities allegedly found 69 live animals in her vehicle, including venomous vipers, caimans and a baby crocodile. The animals were reportedly stuffed into pillowcases sealed with tape.