Teen gets prison for smuggling tiger cub into US from Mexico

The Associated Press

7 years ago

An agent holding a male Bengal tiger cub that was confiscated at the U.S. border crossing at Otay Mesa southeast of downtown San Diego in August 2017. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP, File)

A rescued Bengal tiger cub plays and explores the enclosure at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in November 2017. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)

SAN DIEGO — A California teen has been sentenced to six months in prison for smuggling in a Bengal tiger cub from Mexico.

The defense attorney for 18-year-old Luis Valencia told the court Tuesday in San Diego before his sentencing that his client had had a lapse in judgment and wanted the endangered tiger as a pet.

But prosecutors argued Valencia’s cellphone data showed he was running an animal smuggling business and boasted about getting thousands for monkeys, jaguars and lions.

The 6-week-old cub was found on the passenger-side floor in Valencia’s car in August at a San Diego border checkpoint.

Tigers are endangered and it’s illegal to import them without a permit.

The tiger cub was named Moka and now lives at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.