An Anaheim couple was sentenced to three years of probation after admitting they helped smuggle rhinoceros horns, black bear gallbladders and other protected wildlife parts between Oregon and Vietnam over nearly two years, collecting more than $51,000 in the process. Linh Luu, 35, and Kevin Le, 45, each pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act and now must also pay thousands of dollars in fines tied to the scheme.
Luu and Le were sentenced Friday in federal court in Eugene, according to OregonLive, which reported that the Lacey Act prohibits buying or selling wildlife that has been illegally imported or exported. The couple received $51,100 for helping a friend in Vietnam illegally move the wildlife parts between September 2019 and May 2021, the outlet reported. Each was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine to the Cooperative Endangered Species Fund.
According to the same report, American black bear gallbladders and cougar bones were shipped out of Oregon to Vietnam, while white and black rhinoceros horns and a tiger pelt moved in the opposite direction, arriving in Oregon from Vietnam. Lion teeth were also imported to Oregon, shipped from Tanzania. Black bears and cougars are native to Oregon, and gallbladders and bones from the animals are prized by some for use in traditional Asian medicine, per the outlet's reporting. Lions, tigers, and black and white rhinoceroses are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
A Parking Lot Meeting and a Disguised Shipment
The case centered on a December 2020 meeting in which Luu and Le met with an undercover federal agent in a parking lot, the report states. There, they accepted $12,000 in cash as a down payment for part of a rhino horn and discussed ways to avoid U.S. banking regulations that might flag the transaction, according to the same account. The pair later each received nearly $5,000 in electronic payments for the horn, which was shipped to Oregon disguised as a household decoration, the report said.
Prosecutors said the sale was discussed as a way to build trust ahead of larger deals to come. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Oregon State Police, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Judge Cites Risk to a Family and a Future
U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane, who handed down the sentence, noted that the couple had a home, young children and jobs, according to the OregonLive account. “You put all that at risk, really, just for money,” McShane said, per the same report. Prosecutor Adam Nate said he was disappointed that Luu engaged in the crime after immigrating to the United States and attending college and graduate school.
Luu was on the way to becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen when the investigation began, and her felony conviction now puts that process in jeopardy, the outlet reported. Her defense lawyer, Koben Patterson, said the conviction could affect her status in the United States and described his client as extremely ashamed, embarrassed and afraid. Luu and Le both apologized in court, according to the same report.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Rhino Horn Cases
The Eugene case echoes earlier rhino horn prosecutions tied to Oregon. In 2015, James Hess of Maquoketa, Iowa, pleaded guilty to illegally buying and transporting black rhino horns from Oregon to Iowa in violation of the Lacey Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. That same year, Felix Kha was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for working with his father in an international scheme involving smuggled rhino horns, the Justice Department said in a separate announcement.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has said it serves as the primary federal agency enforcing laws and treaties addressing domestic and international wildlife trafficking. The agency has also said that wildlife products including bear gallbladders and rhino horns can turn up for sale online, though it has acknowledged that the overall volume of illegal trade conducted through encrypted apps and closed social-media groups is difficult for law enforcement to quantify.
