Thasi Limited, Smuggling Wildlife, Virginia 2020

A British shipping company, Thasi Limited, was sentenced yesterday for its role in a smuggling scheme that brought over 100 undeclared wildlife items into the United States. The items included species protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The company, doing business as The British Shop (TBS), pleaded guilty and was ordered to forfeit $175,000. According to court documents, TBS employees in England helped hide the wildlife imports from the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The wildlife items included sea turtle shell, sawfish blades, crocodile skin bags, coral, and mounted birds of prey. Between 2013 and 2018, TBS shipped at least 35 separate cargo shipments of merchandise for resale, which contained wildlife and wildlife parts valued between $250,000 and $500,000.

To conceal the existence of wildlife pieces in the shipments, TBS employees often labeled them in a generic manner at the direction of Keith Foster, the owner of an antique store in Middleburg called The Outpost.

Foster, 61, of Upperville, pleaded guilty in December 2018 to selling items that constituted or contained parts of endangered species and other wildlife illegally imported into the United States. Foster's business was ordered to forfeit $175,000 as part of the settlement.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Edward Grace, Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon D. Kromberg prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-281.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/british-shipping-company-sentenced-role-smuggling-scheme