Shark fin soup, considered a delicacy in some countries, has long fueled demand for illegally harvested fins. But federal authorities in Georgia announced this week that they had dismantled at least one source for the ingredient: a multimillion-dollar organization they described as an international money
A dozen people, including Terry Xing Zhao Wu, 45, of Burlingame, California, and two businesses on opposite ends of the country face multiple charges, including fraud and money laundering, for their roles in what the authorities called the “Wu transnational criminal organization,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said in a statement Thursday.
“The investigation is about dismantling a major conspiracy aimed at profiting from illegally traded wildlife and illegally grown marijuana, hiding the sources of those proceeds and using it to fuel an insatiable criminal enterprise,” he said. Story continuesIn their statement, prosecutors said that “certain species of sharks are protected wildlife under federal and state law to ensure their continued sustainability.”In the 37-page indictment, prosecutors said the organization, which included people across the United States as well as in Hong Kong, Mexico and Canada, was involved in wildlife trafficking, shark finning, drug trafficking and money laundering. Prosecutors said they thought the conspiracy began as early as 2010.
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