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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service have arrested six 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 more than
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 United
States and more than 150 other countries regulate global commerce
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 three 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 United States 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, re 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 two men sent more than $300,000
worth of protected cycads to the United States 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 10 protected cycads into
the United States.
The Service investigation also resulted in charges against three
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 United States
from Indonesia. Both remain at large. According to the indictment,
the two 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 four 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 five 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.
Fish and Wildlife Service 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. Fish and Wildlife Service 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 4-million-acre National
Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national
wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special
management areas. It also operates 70 national 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 program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars
in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish
and wildlife agencies.
- FWS -
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