Brother, sister allegedly smuggled rare boa constrictor into US (Jeremy Stone)

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah brother and sister face criminal charges for allegedly smuggling a rare boa constrictor into the United States to breed and sell the offspring for tens of thousands of dollars.

Jeremy Stone, 39, became aware of a white boa at the Niteroi Zoo near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that had been caught in the wild, according to a federal indictment.

Stone, owner Jeremy Stone Reptiles in Lindon, sent thousands of dollars to the zoo administrator between 2007 and 2009 as payment for the snake, prosecutors allege.

He sent or had others send emails to the administrator discussing how he could get the boa out of Brazil without export permits. The emails included photos demonstrating how the administrator should pack the snake in his sister's luggage, according to the indictment.

In January 2009, Stone and Keri Ann Stone, 34, of Midvale, traveled to Brazil to meet with the zoo administrator.

According to the indictment, a few days later the Stones attempted to leave Brazil on a cruise ship back to the United States but were denied permission to board because Kari Ann Stone appeared to be in the late months of pregnancy.

Airport security temporarily detained them after finding that she was wearing a hollow, false pregnancy belly and bra. The indictment alleges they were testing airport security.
They also attempted to board a flight to the United States. Airport security temporarily detained them after finding that she was wearing a hollow, false pregnancy belly and bra. The indictment alleges they were testing airport security.

The Stones ultimately moved the white boa from Brazil to Guyana, where a veterinarian created a fake certificate of origin showing the snake was caught in Guyana, according to the indictment.

Jeremy Stone sent the white boa and other snakes to the Unites States, declaring on a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service form that they were caught in Guyana and valued at $220, the indictment says.

The snakes were cleared for entry in Miami based on false information on the form on Jan. 29, 2009, and transported to Stone Reptiles in Lindon, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges Jeremy Stone bred the white boa with other boa constrictors and sold the offspring for tens of thousands of dollars to buyers in the United States, Canada and Italy, among other places.

Jeremy Stone and Keri Ann Stone are charged in a four-count indictment with conspiracy to unlawfully import the snake into the United States; unlawfully importing the snake into the country; transporting the snake knowing it was imported contrary to law; and making and submitting false records for wildlife imported into the United States.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy count is five years in prison. The potential penalty for importing merchandise contrary to law is 20 years, and submitting false information on a Fish and Wildlife form carries a penalty of five years in prison.


Read more at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2829...A7Ap3CE180e.99

wow, thanks for sharing.
I know a lot of us boa people wondered and questioned it's lineage. I feel bad for the people that bought into the project thinking it was pure BCi.

I feel bad for the folks that have purchased boas from him or sold boas using his name as a source, particularly prior to 2009. Their money was used, probably not even indirectly, for a smuggling operation.

It's already a badly written e-book LOL.

http://www.amazon.com/story-Boitat%C.../dp/B00FTPGO6U

The story of Boitatá Operation and "Princess Diamond" - The One Million Dollar Snake [Kindle Edition]

Kindle Price: $9.99

Publication Date: October 11, 2013
By telling the story of the investigation backstage that led up to Boitatá Operation, this book presents the author’s personal opinion about the captivity of wild animals, formed in one decade work as environmental analyst of IBAMA. After lots of operations in many Brazilian states, most of them fighting against the illegal captivity and the wildlife trafficking, the top of this process is the Boitatá Operation, of which he was one of the mainly creators.
The information presented here has as main objective to bring up the subject and promote an urgent and needed critical and debate, grounded not only in personal experience but also in scientific data, about how our society has romantic and mistakenly seen the captivity of wild animals, as well as minimized the catastrophic consequences of this habit. It’s hoped that the debate promotes the necessary changes in habit and values of ethical cultures, aiming merely at the preservation of Brazilian biodiversity and, consequently, the maintenance of environmental quality for present and future generations, as it clearly established, almost as a utopian, in the Article 225 of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil.
And let’s hope the Boitatá doesn’t reach us, because we are all victims and all guilty.

The first two sentences of the "forward"....

On October 6, 2013, it was transmitted by the Globe television, on the TV program Fantastico, a story about a rare snake that would have been stolen from Brazil and taken illegally to the United States by the American Jeremy Stone. The animal had an estimated value of 1 million dollars.

Brazil is demanding extradition of the two smugglers, the return of the snake, and the return of all of his offspring. The folks who shelled out big bucks for those snakes are not going to be happy.

Originally Posted by bcr229

Brazil is demanding extradition of the two smugglers, the return of the snake, and the return of all of his offspring. The folks who shelled out big bucks for those snakes are not going to be happy.

I doubt the buyer in italy should be worried but america might give everything over as a post prism scandal olive branch. Though stone likely won't be extradited. I wonder if the canadian buyer will be forced to give theirs up

Originally Posted by bcr229

Brazil is demanding extradition of the two smugglers, the return of the snake, and the return of all of his offspring. The folks who shelled out big bucks for those snakes are not going to be happy.

They can demand the return of the offspring all they want. They might get any that are still at Jeremy's place, but any that were sold are be pretty much gone.
Anyone with half a brain that has one will give it a vacation in a friend's collection and be in mourning for the death of their large investment should the authorities come calling.

That gene will be available again in years to come, miraculously popping up unexpectedly in another breeding project.

i dont think they can legally take back the offspring sold. probably princess diamond and maybe his hets and visual offspring, but people who bought hets? highly improbable. correct me if im wrong because i would like to know more about what happens with the people with hets.

Originally Posted by KnM-Reptiles

i dont think they can legally take back the offspring sold. probably princess diamond and maybe his hets and visual offspring, but people who bought hets? highly improbable. correct me if im wrong because i would like to know more about what happens with the people with hets.

Well, during the "white snake" (lucy hognose scandal) some years ago, the feds raided and confiscated that collection (possibly even destroyed them by now). I believe they also went after owners of any of the offspring to confiscate but not positive if that is true or not.

Originally Posted by Wraith

Well, during the "white snake" (lucy hognose scandal) some years ago, the feds raided and confiscated that collection (possibly even destroyed them by now). I believe they also went after owners of any of the offspring to confiscate but not positive if that is true or not.

when brian shot snakebytes at petes he told us that. that really sucks, but i dont believe the buyers were sought after, i think any breeding of such animal if its even going on is done behind closed doors and kept from the public until all of it blows over. and who can prove that the offspring were from the princess diamond? cant you say a freak lucy was produced from a "sunglow x jungle het" pairing?