A South Florida smuggler's fishy business has landed her in hot water. Xiao Pingping, 38, pleaded guilty to federal charges of smuggling sea cucumbers, shark fins, and sea horses into the United States through a South Florida airport, as well as attempting to smuggle American ginseng out of the country. Xiao's plea led to her swift sentencing on December 11 to a month behind bars.
The indictment slapped Xiao with three counts: two for smuggling protected marine species into the U.S. and one for trying to illegally export American Ginseng, a plant species guarded under international trade laws. Xiao's misdeeds began on Jan. 14, 2022, according to court documents, when she shipped a package from Brazil to Florida, deliberately mislabeling the contents as "fish belly" to conceal 33 sea horses, 435 sea cucumbers, and 16 shark fins. These species are not only wildlife but also come with strict declaration requirements by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, as per federal regulations.
The smuggling saga continued on November 19 when Xiao was stopped at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Initially, she lied to border officials, claiming her baggage lacked any plants, food, seeds, fruits, vegetables, endangered species, or meat. However, a hand search of her luggage revealed 11 hidden sea cucumbers. Xiao tried to misidentify them as "fish belly" once more, but eventually conceded their true nature, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Her run-ins with the law didn't end there. Just five days later, Xiao again attempted to secretly move contraband. This time, her cargo was American ginseng. Despite her previous encounter with border officers, Xiao chose not to declare the nine bags and four boxes of the protected plant stashed in her luggage aboard a flight to Managua, Nicaragua. CITES regulations were clearly on Xiao's radar, as she'd been schooled on agricultural regulations shortly before when officers seized those sea cucumbers.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, and the Special Agent in Charge for the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Region, Stephen Clark, announced the conviction. The investigation was a joint effort by the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement in Miami and Portland, with support from Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily R. Stone handled the prosecution, making sure Xiao faced the consequences of her actions.
