FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1997                           (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
           TWO SENTENCED IN FLORIDA FOR THEIR ROLES IN
           INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE SMUGGLING CONSPIRACY

     Longest Jail Term Ever Imposed in Reptile Smuggling Case

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal judge in Orlando, Florida,
today sentenced a German national to just under four years in
jail -- the longest jail term imposed for reptile smuggling --
for conspiring to smuggle hundreds of rare and endangered snakes
and tortoises into the United States and Canada, the United
States announced.  A second man was sentenced to three years
probation for his role in the conspiracy.    

     The smuggled wildlife had an estimated commercial value of
more than $250,000.

     Judge Ann Conway sentenced Wolfgang Michael Kloe, 33, of
Rauenberg, Germany, to 46 months in prison and a $10,000 fine for
his role in a multi-year conspiracy to smuggle hundreds of snakes
and tortoises from Madagascar into Canada and the United States
for sale to wildlife dealers and collectors.

     Judge Conway also sentenced Simon David Harris, 25, of
Blairgowrie, South Africa, to three years probation, which
requires he spend one month in the community corrections facility
in Maitland, for his role in smuggling 61 Madagascan Tree Boas
and four Spider Tortoises into Orlando, Florida from Frankfurt,
Germany in August 1996.  Harris had concealed the snakes and
tortoises in a suitcase he brought with him on a commercial
flight from Germany.

     "Today's sentences should make clear to would-be wildlife
smugglers that they will be caught and they will be punished," 
said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. 
"I applaud the diligent efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and the U.S. Customs Service, whose efforts have enabled
the Justice Department to prosecute those who engage in illegal
wildlife trafficking -- an industry that generates billions of
dollars in illegal profits every year."

     The animals smuggled by Harris were discovered when a U.S.
Customs Service officer at Orlando International Airport felt
something moving inside Harris' suitcase.  Kloe was arrested
after arranging to take delivery of the reptiles from Harris.

     Both men pleaded guilty before Judge Conway in October 1996. 
Harris pleaded guilty to smuggling, while Kloe pleaded guilty to
conspiracy, smuggling, money laundering, and attempted escape. 
Kloe had fled across an expressway from the car transporting him
after his arrest, but was again apprehended shortly thereafter. 
In addition, Kloe pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act, a
federal law that protects wildlife.

     In August, a federal grand jury returned an 18 count
indictment against Harris and Kloe and four others for
participating in the international wildlife smuggling conspiracy. 
According to the indictment, purchasers paid for the smuggled
animals by wire transfers of funds from Canada to the United
States and from the United States to Europe.

     The animals smuggled in the overall conspiracy included
approximately 107 Madagascan Tree Boas, 25 Spider Tortoises, 51
Radiated Tortoises, and two Madagascan Ground Boas.  The Radiated
Tortoise is classified as endangered under the Endangered Species
Act.  All of the species are protected by an international treaty
known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.

     The four other defendants indicted along with Kloe and
Harris remain outside the United States and have not been
arraigned.  The United States has begun the formal process for
extradition of defendant Enrico Joseph Truant of Windsor,
Ontario, Canada.  Other defendants not yet arraigned include
Frank H. Lehmeyer, Roland Werner, and Olaf Strohmann, all German
citizens.
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97-014