Man pleads guilty to smuggling snakes on planes

Man pleads guilty to smuggling snakes on planes

Man pleads guilty to smuggling snakes on planes

TYLER, Texas (AP) — Samuel L. Jackson would have been cursing up a storm.

An East Texas man has pleaded guilty to smuggling snakes on several planes from South America to the United States.

During a court hearing Wednesday in Tyler, William Lamar pleaded guilty to importing wildlife taken in violation of foreign law.

Prosecutors say the 63-year-old eco-tourism guide bought the seven live snakes in August 2012 in a market in Lima, Peru, and smuggled them in his jacket on flights from Lima to Miami and then to Dallas.

Game wardens seized the snakes from Lamar’s home in Tyler.

Peruvian law prohibits the exportation of wild live animals coming from the forest or jungle unless the exporter has the proper paperwork.

Lamar faces up to five years in prison.