Operation Chameleon

Operation Chameleon was a series of undercover operations performed by the Office of Law Enforcement of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) with the aim of rounding up several reptile smuggling rings. The operation lasted five years, starting during the second half of the 1990s and was mainly concerned with violations of laws as the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act. The FWS cooperated with law enforcement agencies around the world.

Operation Chameleon managed to capture 26 animal smugglers, originating from six countries.

Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, a Malaysian citizen and known as the "Lizard King", was deemed to be responsible for the biggest global animal smuggling ring that has been taken down. Wong owned a private zoo which he used to smuggle animals. He traded in the almost extinct Komodo dragons and critically endangered Chinese alligator. Prices for these animals went up to £20,000 and £11,000 respectively. Wong managed to smuggle reptiles to the United States by the use of an import/export business. Wong was also involved in the theft of critically endangered ploughshare tortoise from a breeding sanctuary in Madagascar. A grand total of 75 animals were stolen and Wong got possession of 37 of them. The whole heist was worth £500,000 on the black market. Wong was the main target of Operation Chameleon and to be able to capture him the FWS set up a fake company named PacRim. Wong offered two of the ploughshare tortoise to PacRim. The FWS managed to lure Wong to Mexico on 14 September 1998, as Wong refused to go to the United States because he had an outstanding warrant relating to a 1992 smuggling case. Wong was arrested as he stepped off the plane, he was then sent to a Mexican jail. In the United States he had been charged with smuggling more than 300 reptiles into the United States between January 1996 and August 1998, with a total worth of $500,000. Animals were smuggled from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines. Aside from his import/export business Wong used human couriers, Federal Express shipments with false invoices and shipping documents, and the concealment of illegal animals within larger shipments of legal animals. He was charged for all these affairs. From Mexico Wong fought extradition request for two years. In 2000 he gave up his struggle against extradition and was transferred to the United States. On 7 June 2001 he was sentenced to 71 months of jailtime and a fine of $60,000, he was also prohibited from selling animals to anyone in the United States for three years after his release.

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