Reptile Rustlers Busted At Border

Reptile Rustlers Busted At Border -Endangered Species Among 1,000+ Hidden In Their Van
May 03, 2010/The Canadian Press
ST. CATHARINES, Ont.
A Niagara-on-the-Lake nab has admitted to illegally loading up his van with more than 1,000 reptiles and trying to sneak them across the Canada-U.S. border.

Andrew Fruck, 32, pleaded guilty in a St. Catharines, Ont., court Friday to trying to smuggle more than 1,000 tortoises, turtles, boa constrictors and pythons.

Canadian border guards at the Queenston-Lewiston bridge found a slew of reptiles hidden behind panels of the vehicle during a search on Sept. 15, 2009.

Among the critter contraband were seven types of endangered species: 15 red-footed tortoises, three leopard tortoises, two elongated tortoises, 14 African-spurred tortoises, three macklot pythons, two forsten tortoises and six rainbow boa constrictors.

Also in the shipment were 203 southern painted turtles, 1,220 red-eared slider turtles, three pond turtles and four king snakes - which are not endangered.

Fruck did not have proper documentation to import them into Canada.

Federal prosecutor Darren Anger said Fruck was attempting to cross the border with his wife, Tricia, and their two children when guards noticed a few loose screws in the van's back panels. A guard removed one of them and found a cotton bag stuffed with several turtles, he said.

Fruck pleaded guilty to seven counts of unlawfully importing an endangered animal into the country and four counts of unlawfully importing an animal into the country without proper permits.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a customs officer and breaching a probation order banning the possession of animals.

Fruck's wife, Tricia, 30, pleaded guilty to breaching a probation order relating to a charge in St. Catharines on Oct. 16, 2009.

Anger said last fall a mix of live and dead animals, including tree frog and gecko carcasses, was found in the couple's home.

Thirty bags of dead rodents were found in an upstairs fridge.

An online resume says Fruck ran a company called Rodent Kings from 2001 to 2009 through which he sold small animals.

Both Andrew and Tricia have both been previously convicted of cruelty to animals when they were living in Napanee, Ont., Anger told the court.

The animals were seized at the border and transferred to other holding facilities. The 1,200 turtles were returned to their rightful home in Louisiana.

Both Andrew and Tricia Fruck will be sentenced on July 16.