A man involved in an illegal wildlife trafficking ring has been sentenced to 9 months in prison after pleading guilty to 3 offences related to smuggling exotic animals into Australia.
Jesse Sayeg admitted to illegally importing live tortoises and turtles in Caloundra Magistrates Court in Queensland this week.
The smuggling ring came to light when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers tipped off the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) after they noticed a smell coming from a package sent from the Philippines in March 2023.
The parcel was X-rayed, revealing a consignment that contained a variety of reptiles and spiders.
A DAFF veterinarian opened the package and found 3 snakes, 6 iguanas, 3 soft shell turtles and 3 tarantulas, many of them dead, in drawstring calico bags. The consignment was in a false name and misdeclared as toys.
The 2-year investigation into this illegal exotic trafficking gang, Operation Cascade, stretched across 3 jurisdictions. Search warrants uncovered an additional 2 hog nose snakes, 45 tarantulas, 3 eco-skeleton spiders, 2 scorpions, an African hedgehog and an alligator snapping turtle.
DAFF Deputy Secretary of Biosecurity, Operations and Compliance, Justine Saunders said animals introduced to Australia this way create unacceptable biosecurity risks.
“Exotic animals can carry biosecurity risks and diseases unknown in Australia, potentially devastating agriculture, native wildlife and even human health,” Ms Saunders said.
“Any breach of Australia’s biosecurity laws is taken extremely seriously, with a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $1,650,000 for an individual or $8,250,000 for a company.
“DAFF has more than a thousand biosecurity officers working at our borders and in mailrooms every day who are trained to pick up anomalies in the system.
“The illegal wildlife trade is the world’s fourth largest illicit transnational trade, after arms, drugs and human trafficking. “DAFF, along with other government agencies, are united in their commitment to eradicate the illicit wildlife trade and will take vigorous and relentless action to seek out those responsible, bring them to justice and stop this global crime.”
Operation Cascade is a DAFF-led collaboration – with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, ABF and various state agencies in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia – to expose and mitigate the biosecurity risks posed by a broad network of actors illegally.
