69 live animals found in hidden car compartment at San Ysidro border crossing, federal charges filed
Against the backdrop of tightening cross-border enforcement at San Ysidro, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California have charged two people with running a wildlife trafficking operation…
Key takeaways
- U.S. prosecutors charged Georgina Bribiesca Chavez, 66, of Tijuana, and Salvador Pelayo, 28, of Chula Vista, with wildlife trafficking between Tijuana and Southern California.
- CBP officers found 69 live animals hidden in taped pillowcases in a concealed compartment of Chavez's Volkswagen at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after her Aug. 10 arrest.
- The 69 animals included 60 abronia lizards, four yellow-blotched palm pit vipers, three caimans, a baby crocodile, and an indigo snake, and all three caimans died after nearly 24 hours in the seized vehicle.
- Both defendants pleaded not guilty and face Lacey Act charges carrying a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
- The arrests followed an approximately 18-month undercover investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alleging the pair trafficked wildlife together since 2023, earning tens of thousands of dollars.
Against the backdrop of tightening cross-border enforcement at San Ysidro, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California have charged two people with running a wildlife trafficking operation between Tijuana and Southern California. Georgina Bribiesca Chavez, 66, of Tijuana, was arrested Aug. 10 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after a records check revealed an outstanding warrant tied to a wildlife trafficking investigation. CBP officers found 69 live animals the following morning, stuffed in knotted, taped pillowcases inside a concealed compartment of her Volkswagen.
The animals, taken to the San Diego Zoo for assessment, included 60 abronia lizards, four venomous yellow-blotched palm pit vipers, three caimans, a baby crocodile, and an indigo snake, according to the Justice Department. Chavez had told a CBP officer she had nothing to declare. The animals remained inside the seized vehicle for nearly 24 hours in August heat before officers inspected the compartment hidden behind the rear seat. All three caimans died. The remaining animals were stable and still in the zoo's care as of last week.
Chavez pleaded not guilty to a federal wildlife trafficking charge and was ordered held without bond. A second defendant, Salvador Pelayo, 28, of Chula Vista, was arrested in July and has also pleaded not guilty. Both face Lacey Act trafficking charges carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The trafficking record prosecutors allege
The arrests cap an approximately 18-month undercover investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Prosecutors allege Chavez and Pelayo trafficked wildlife together since 2023, making tens of thousands of dollars from exotic animal sales.
In March 2025, Chavez allegedly delivered four protected Mexican box turtles to an undercover agent for $2,600 cash shortly after crossing the border. All four turtles later died after transfer to the Oakland Zoo. Prosecutors said the animals were already in poor health, believed to have been wild-caught and suffering from respiratory disease. Pelayo is separately accused of using the alias "Jose Lopez" to ship four protected Mexican and Yucatan box turtles to an undercover agent in New York.
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