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Canadian Man Smuggles 38 Turtles In Pants, Gets Fined $2,600

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Feb 29, 2016 12:04 PM EST

Dong Yan from Windsor, Ontario, was caught with some strange legwear. He had put 38 small turtles in plastic bags and taped them to his legs under his pants, according to Canada's environmental department. He was fined the equivalent of $2,600, reports Reuters.

He had been trying to smuggle the turtles from the U.S. into the southern part of Ontario in June 2014 by crossing the Niagara border but was apprehended by immigration officials. Hence, he got convicted on Feb. 17 and put on a probation of two years, even as he was fined $3,500 CAD ($2,600), which will now go directly to the Environmental Damages Fund.

He has also been sentenced to "50 hours of community service" and is not permitted to own turtles and tortoises for the coming decade. The Environment and Climate Change Department also ordered him to write a letter "suitable for publication, outlining his experience of being intercepted, charged and prosecuted for the offences in question" which will be published "as the Department sees fit," according to their website.

The reptiles smuggled into the country included "ringed map turtles, diamondback terrapins, three-toed box turtles, spotted turtles and red-eared sliders". Live specimens of such turtles get often smuggled into Canada as part of the pet and food trade.

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