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Old January 4th, 2010 #16
Alex Linder
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Man sentenced in LA for smuggling fish into US

12/31/2009

LOS ANGELES—A man who tried to smuggle six endangered fish into Los Angeles has been fined $7,500 and sentenced to six months of house arrest, two years probation and 200 hours of community service.

A federal judge this week in Los Angeles sentenced 35-year-old Ricky Vu of Garden Grove.

Federal prosecutors say Vu hid six Asian Arowanas, also known as dragon fish or lucky fish, in his luggage on a commercial flight Sept. 28 from Indonesia. They are illegal in the United States without a permit and worth thousands of dollars on the black market.

Authorities says the fish, which can grow to 3 feet long, were found alive in bags of water when his luggage was searched.

Vu pleaded guilty in October to a misdemeanor charge of illegally importing the endangered fish into the United States.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14100540