A man pleaded guilty in connection with a West Texas ring that smuggled rare living rock cacti, a plant that wildlife officials say are a protected species.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas says Harry George Bock II, of El Paso, pleaded guilty Tuesday before a U.S. magistrate judge in Pecos to one count of mislabeling exports in a scheme to ship cacti overseas.
El Paso Times reports that the government seized Bock's shipment of 41 cacti at an international mail facility in Chicago in 2018.
The U.S. wildlife says that Bock faces three years of probation, $7,200 in restitution as part of a plea agreement.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
