Lizard smuggler sentenced to house arrest in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California man who smuggled five monitor lizards into the U.S. — two of which died — will spend six months under house arrest.
City News Service says Gayle Simpson was sentenced Thursday in Los Angeles federal court.
The 34-year-old Inglewood resident pleaded guilty in September to smuggling monitor lizards that were shipped from the Philippines.
The animals were in a box labeled “speakers” that were addressed to Simpson’s son. Two of the lizards arrived dead and another had a crushed foot.
The lizards are protected under an international agreement which aims to ensure that international trade in wild animal and plant specimens doesn’t threaten their survival.
