Case library · The Black Market
The Drying Room
United States v. Song Shen Zhen (2014)
Charge: Smuggling of an endangered speciesCourt: U.S. District Court, S.D. CaliforniaState: CaliforniaDocket: The Black Market
Did bringing protected fish parts across the border amount to smuggling rather than an innocent personal import?
The facts
A man drove across the border from Mexico with twenty-seven dried fish swim bladders hidden under the mats in the back of his car. Officers then searched his home and found two hundred and fourteen more, laid out in rows with fans blowing air over them. The bladders came from a fish listed as endangered. The haul was worth a few hundred thousand dollars locally and millions on overseas black markets.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: United States v. Song Shen Zhen (S.D. Cal. 2014)
Read more at justice.gov. The source reveals the outcome.