Traffickers plead guilty to smuggling endangered sea cucumbers into California

By AMANCAI BIRABEN | Associated Press

LOS ANGELES  — Wildlife traffickers pleaded guilty this week in federal court in California to illegally importing endangered sea cucumbers — which are prized in China for food and medicine and as a reputed aphrodisiac — from Mexico.

Zunyu Zhao and Xionwei Xiao were charged with conspiracy and illegal importation of brown sea cucumbers worth over $10,000 from 2017 to 2019 and are scheduled to be sentenced in September and November, respectively.

Prosecutors haven’t said where in the ocean the sea cucumbers were obtained. But the defendants were allegedly found with the smuggled bottom-feeders as they crossed from Mexico into the U.S. at Calexico. Zhao and Xiao agreed to pay restitution to the Mexican government’s environmental protection agency. They could get up to 25 years in prison.

Attorneys for Zhao and Xiao did not respond to requests for comment.

After seizing the sea cucumbers at the border, investigators found text messages and images sent between Zhao and Xiao about the transactions. The sea cucumbers are being held as evidence by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“This office is committed to upholding the twin pillars of marine biodiversity and conservation,” acting U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Haden said in a statement. “Criminals considering poaching protected species should be aware that this office will diligently investigate, thoroughly prosecute, and seek restitution no matter the species.”

Sea cucumbers are in the same family as sea stars and sea urchins and can measure up to 7 feet. Brown sea cucumbers have a smooth body dotted by warts and can grow to 2 feet.

The animals operate as a vacuum on the sea floor, breaking down particles that become part of the ocean’s nutrient cycle, said Gordon Hendler, Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles curator of echinoderms.

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