Ohioan Admits Role in Smuggling of Snakes
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Reuters
WASHINGTON — A Parma, Ohio, man pleaded guilty to taking part in a smuggling ring that brought snakes from Papua New Guinea into the United States.
Prosecutors said Edmund Celebucki smuggled the snakes in suitcases and sold them to collectors for as much as $3,000 per snake. The operation netted more than $250,000.
Celebucki, who pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Akron, Ohio, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine at his sentencing Aug. 18.
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