A California man faces federal prison time after authorities busted an alleged scheme to smuggle nearly 300 protected turtles from the U.S. to Taiwan using falsified paperwork.
Donald Do of Daly City, was arrested last week on federal wildlife trafficking charges, including conspiracy and violating the Lacey Act. According to federal prosecutors, Do plotted to ship 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Asia by falsely claiming the animals were captive-bred rather than poached from the wild.
The indictment states that between December 2022 and May 2024, Do and an unnamed California accomplice managed to secure an export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). They allegedly obtained the permit by submitting false paperwork claiming Do had personally hatched and raised the turtles.
With the permit in hand, Do allegedly began purchasing musk turtles that had been poached from the wild in Florida and other states. Investigators say Do explicitly told sellers he was willing to buy “wild caught” specimens and provided instructions on how to ship them to San Francisco.
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The operation also involved an attempt to acquire more than 200 additional turtles from Albert Bazaar of Louisiana, who was detained last week in Phoenix on separate turtle trafficking charges. When the export plot ultimately failed, Do allegedly tried to cover his tracks by lying to his co-conspirator, claiming he had sold the turtles to domestic buyers instead.
The Lacey Act strictly prohibits providing false information about wildlife involved in international or interstate commerce, as well as trafficking wildlife taken in violation of state laws. Loggerhead musk turtles received federal protection in November 2022 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international agreement aimed at protecting vulnerable plants and animals.
The arrest stemmed from “Operation Southern Hot Herps,” a joint federal and state law enforcement crackdown targeting turtle poaching across the southeastern United States. The investigation was led by the USFWS with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Do is scheduled for a bond hearing on May 21, followed by a status conference on July 31. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy and Lacey Act violations.
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