In December of 2019 we shared the news of a turtle trafficking network that had been uncovered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Postal Service. The two year long investigation documented a plan to illegally export over 769 native North American turtles (of many protected species) to China for the international pet trade. The investigation led to the arrest of a Chinese national and halted this particular operation. Nearly three years after his arrest, the man who pleaded guilty to purchasing and planning to export these turtles was finally sentenced earlier this month…