A man who tried to smuggle more than 1,700 wild animals hidden in his clothes through an airport has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
The Californian man, from the coastal city of Oxnard, illegally imported the creatures mainly from Mexico, with the animals believed to have a market value of more than $739,000 (£633,000).
Jose Manuel Perez, who also goes by the name of Julio Rodriguez, has pleaded guilty to two counts of smuggling goods and one count of wildlife trafficking.
According to a plea agreement, it was also heard in court that Perez and his accomplices used social media from 2016 to February this year to organise the smuggling of the animals, which were primarily reptiles.
