Claiming a small victory on St. Thomas in the global war against the smuggling of exotic wildlife, the U.S. Department of Justice rested its case Thursday against a Taiwanese couple who were caught smuggling precious black coral from Asia to a local jewelry maker.
Gloria and Ivan Chu both pleaded guilty Thursday to nine counts, including conspiracy, making false statements and violations of two federal wildlife laws: the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act.
However, the St. Thomas jeweler implicated by email exchanges in knowingly importing protected species was not named or prosecuted.
U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Andrew Ames, based in Washington, D.C., said he could not comment on why the local jewelry company’s identity was still a secret Thursday.
According to the plea agreement, the Chus admitted to importing black coral through their company, Peng Chia Enterprise, to the St. Thomas-based “Company X” between December 2008 and this January to be used in jewelry and sculpture without requisite permits according to CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
The Chus said they marked boxes of coral with false labels to throw off U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, shipping from a supplier in China through an intermediary in Hong Kong to get their illicit product to the unnamed shop on St. Thomas, which has so far not accepted any of the blame.
A 10-box shipment of black coral marked “plastic of craft work” in August alerted federal agents, who launched an investigation dubbed “Operation Black Gold” involving Customs, U.S. Fish & Wildlife and other federal agencies, which finally charged the Chus for smuggling almost $200,000 worth of the endangered species to the St. Thomas jeweler.
"Stopping the illicit trade and depletion of protected species such as black coral is critical to preserving a healthy and viable marine environment," said Ronald Sharpe, U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“The U.S. Attorney’s office will continue to work closely with its domestic and international law enforcement partners to detect, investigate and prosecute those who plunder those who plunder and traffic in endangered species for their selfish gain,” said Sharpe.
“This should send a strong and clear message to those individuals, foreign and domestic, who deliberately break our environmental laws, that their conduct will not be tolerated,” said James Gale, special agent in charge of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Southeast Division.
According to the plea agreements sealed Thursday, Ivan Chu agreed to serve 30 months in prison and pay $12,500 in fines, while Gloria Chu will serve 20 months in prison and pay $12,500 in fines.
Neither will be allowed to import coral or other wildlife products into the United States for three years after their release from prison.
All fines and prison time will be finalized in a formal sentencing hearing on June 23, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
