LOS ANGELES
A Peruvian who possessed orchids in violation of an international wildlife treaty plead guilty to a federal offense of illegal trade in a protected species, officials announced today.
Victor Manuel Arias Cucho, 46, of Lima, Peru, plead guilty to the offense Wednesday in U.S. District Court and sentenced to two years probation and a $7,500 fine, officials stated.
This case is the result of U.S. authorities discovering more than 200 protected orchids in Cucho’s luggage at Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.
Cucho was flying from Australia to Peru on September 24, when he had a layover at LAX after attending an orchid trade show in Sydney, according to officials.
The orchids are protected under the Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or CITES, and Cucho was aware that he could not bring the CITES-protected orchids into the United States or Peru without having proper documentation, officials said.
Knowing that he did not have the CITES-required documentation, Cucho concealed the orchids in various parts of his luggage in order avoid detection by customs authorities, officials said.
Upon arriving at LAX, Cucho submitted a Customs declaration in which he denied that he was carrying any plants, and he was sent by customs authorities for a secondary agricultural inspection.