Man Tried To Smuggle 51 Turtles In Pants Across Border

Detroit — A Windsor man busted at the Detroit-Windsor tunnel with 51 live turtles in his pants is a serial smuggler who shipped thousands of reptiles to far-flung locales hidden in snow boots and cereal boxes, a federal prosecutor said Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Woodward gave rare insight into a lucrative, international smuggling ring headed by Kai Xu that operated in at least three countries. She described an operation that peddled thousands of turtles, some endangered and worth $1,800 each, and relied on aliases and reptile couriers that Xu — aka "Turtle Man" — recruited through online forums and classified ads.

Woodward lifted the veil Friday on an unusual criminal case that drew headlines a day earlier as far away as the United Kingdom while successfully arguing that Xu should be denied bond while awaiting trial on charges that could send him to prison for 10 years.

More