Queens man pleaded guilty in federal court in Albany to charges stemming from 2018 incident at Northern border crossing
ALBANY — A Queens man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to attempting to smuggle three Burmese pythons into the United States at the Champlain port of entry in 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York announced.Â
Calvin Bautista, 37, of Richmond Hill, admitted that he smuggled three young adult pythons in plastic bags attached to his inner thigh while riding a bus that crossed into the U.S. from Canada. Customs and Border Protection officers said they discovered the snakes while reviewing Bautista’s passport and conducting a search, prosecutors said.Â
Bautista did not have the permits required to import the three snakes. The news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office notes: “As their name suggests, Burmese pythons are not native to North America.”
Pythons can grow to be 18 feet long and are considered an invasive species.
Bautista is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 26 before District Judge Lawrence Kahn and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.Â
Calls and emails to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office seeking additional clarification on what Bautista had planned to do with the pythons and why the case took a serpentine, five-year route through the federal courts system, were not immediately returned.Â
Read the full article here