Accused salamander smuggler remains on bond - Log Cabin Democrat

A U.S. judge moved not to revoke the bond against a Conway man accused of illegally smuggling endangered salamanders after he reportedly killed a snake he was ordered to re-home.

Jackson Roe, 25, was federally indicted earlier this month on three charges after he “willfully and knowingly” imported six Chinese giant salamanders, which are protected both under the Endangered Species Act as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES), according to federal court documents.

Federal prosecutors had requested Roe’s bond be revoked after he reportedly killed one of the snakes he was ordered to regime before U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Brandon L. Bland was able to take it to a facility in Kentucky.

Per the conditions of his release, Roe was previously ordered to find new homes for two his two venomous snakes – a green mamba and a Gaboon viper.

According to recent court documents, Little Rock Zoo officials agreed to take in the viper but “declined to take the mamba due to the lack of available anti-venom in Little Rock.”

There were “significant hurdles” associated with re-homing the green mamba to a Kentucky zoo. Though he was ordered not to euthanize either snake, U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth Deere on Friday said it was clear Roe “did not intentionally violate the explicit conditions of his release.”

“It is undisputed that Mr. Roe did not ‘re-home’ the mamba,” the Friday order denying prosecutors’ request to revoke Roe’s bond reads in part. “After he and his father tried unsuccessfully to lure the snake from its terrarium into a bag for transport, they determined that euthanasia was the better option and killed the snake.”

The investigation that ultimately led to Roe being federally indicted began after the USFWS received an anonymous tip on Aug. 11, 2015.

The tipster reported illegal activities conducted online by a “reptile hobbyist” in China.

The reptile enthusiast, Chen Wen Bin, communicated with individuals via Facebook to sell exotic reptiles, some that were endangered species.

Using an undercover profile, the USFWS special agent sent Bin a “friend request” and then proceeded to monitor the Shanghai, China, resident’s Facebook activity over “the next few months,” according to a federal complaint that was unsealed last week.

The undercover agent reached out to Bin on Aug. 13, 2015, asking if the China man had any salamanders for sale. Bin soon replied, stating he could ship the salamanders directly to Chicago, which is were the agent said he lived at.

The agent reached out to Bin a second time about salamander availability but learned Bin stopped shipping live animals because his “exporter got some problems,” the complaint states.

In October 2016, the tipster contacted authorities again.

The anonymous tipster told the USFWS special agent that she’d ordered three Asian tiger snakes from Bin and that he “fronted” her the snakes. The special agent noted in the complaint that he believes Bin waited to charge the tipster “a trusting business relationship.”

Following up on the investigation, the agent reached out to Bin on Nov. 7, 2016, to see if Bin had any turtles for sale. The China man said he had turtles available but that he could not ship until after “the election.” However, another federal wildlife agent in Los Angeles noticed in January that Bin had animal ads on his Facebook page.

After learning there was more activity to the man’s online account, Bland reached out to the China man about buying a Malaysian box turtles, which require a permit to ship.

According to the complaint, Bin offered to sell the undercover agent three turtles at $100 a piece, with an additional $120 for shipping costs. Throughout the transaction, the China man “never obtained nor discussed” needing a permit.

The turtles were shipped to the United States two days after the undercover agent paid for them.

When the agent received the package, he said noted the shipping label identified the packages contents as “porcelain cup samples.”

Inside the box were toy cars covering three plastic jars, “each of which had holes cut in them.” Though the jars with turtles in them had holes in them, the complaint states the box was not properly labeled to say there were animals inside and only one of the turtles was alive.

Investigators connected the China man to “at least three” other U.S. investigations. One of the investigations pertained to “an illegal shipment of salamanders that came through the Chicago International Mail Facility” in January 2017.

This particular shipment was labeled as containing “porcelain cup samples” and was redirected to a residence on Indian Hills Drive in Conway, according to the complaint.

A wildlife investigator inspected the package and found two Chinese giant salamanders inside plastic jars with wet moss. According to the complaint, the package “had not been declared to the USFWS, and it did not comply with marking requirements for the export or importation of live animals.”

Wildlife Inspector Laura DiPrizo ultimately seized the salamanders and took them to the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois.

Authorities later conducted a federal search warrant to review Bin’s Facebook records and noted there were conversations between Roe and Bin beginning on October 16, 2016, and ending on Jan. 26, 2017. According to the complaint, the two shared photos of rare and endangered amphibians.

Records show Bin sent Roe a package in November 2016 and that Roe reached out to Bin on Dec. 10, 2016, asking if he could send another shipment.

This time, Bin said: “Too risky for us, we can do only one, If you are ok with it I talk to my partner.”

The two agreed the next day that Roe would send over $450 for a “live one.”

The Chinese giant salamander reportedly was sent to a residence on Canal Place in Conway and the two began negotiating over two more Chinese giant salamanders on Dec. 31, 2016, according to the complaint.

Court documents indicate that Roe told Bin he planned to “order a big head turtle” once the salamanders he’d ordered arrived. However, when he had not received them by Jan. 26, 2017, Bin agreed to resend them.”

The complaint also states that a suspicious package indicating it contained a “porcelain cup sample” was flagged in Chicago. A USFWS K-9 was called to conduct an air sniff at the International Mail Facility and alerted authorities that it could smell wildlife in the package. Inside the package, investigators found two toy cars and a Vietnamese black-breasted leaf turtle.

After inspecting the package, authorities delivered the package directly to Roe’s home, and the suspect’s father signed off on the package. Federal investigators conducted a search warrant of the Indian Hills Drive residence on Aug. 1, 2017 and seized one frozen turtle, two live turtles and other documents and shipping materials.

While questioning Roe at the time, he admitted to having “several live amphibians … that were illegally purchased from a Chinese dealer” that he met via Facebook, the complaint states.

During the investigation, authorities reportedly seized three live Chinese giant salamanders, one Chinese big-headed turtle, three boxes and their shipping labels, an American alligator and two crocodiles – a Nile crocodile and a Morelet’s crocodile.

The alligator and crocodiles were seized because according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, it is “unlawful to hunt, buy, sell or possess and American Alligator(s), or other crocodilian species, or any part, nest, or eggs.”

One of Roe’s previous employers reporteldy told investigators Roe was fired from the pet shop after he began talking about having illegal wildlife at his home.

After he was fired, Roe reportedly began sending threatening messages to the Neighborhood Pet Shoppe manager, including one message that read: “This will be my last message to you. Snitch any higher up and you will have a problem.”

The federal complaint against Roe was filed Nov. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in Little Rock, and he was federally indicted on Dec. 4.

Staff writer Marisa Hicks can be reached at mhicks@thecabin.net.

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