The OLE led an interagency investigation that resulted in members of an international primate smuggling ring being charged with multiple felonies for their alleged role in bringing CITES-protected wild long-tailed macaques into the United States. The eight-count indictment charges two officials of the Cambodian Forestry Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; the owner/founder of a major primate supply organization and its general manager; and four of its employees with smuggling and conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act. The indictment further alleges that James Lau and Dickson Lau, operating from Hong Kong, owned and managed a series of related corporations that conspired with black market collectors and corrupt Cambodian officials to acquire wild-caught macaques and launder them through the Cambodian entities for export to the U.S. and elsewhere, falsely labelled as captive bred.
DOJ’s Press Release: Cambodian Officials and Six Co-conspirators Indicted for Taking Part in Primate Smuggling Scheme
