A Riverside County teenager was arrested early Wednesday morning after police say he tried to snake a Bengal tiger cub into the United States in his Chevy Camaro.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered the adorable cub lying on the floor between a passengers legs at about 1:30 am at the Otay Mesa border crossing. Luis Valencia, 18, of Perris, was driving and was charged Thursday with one count of unlawful importation of wildlife, reports the LA Times.
CBP officers rescue an illegally-trafficked tiger cub from traveler who tried to bring it into Calif. from Mexico https://t.co/oQqrrEEVQN pic.twitter.com/5d3IACQYeW
— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) August 24, 2017
Valencia told investigators that he bought the cub earlier in the week from a man who was walking a “full-sized tiger on a leash” through the streets of Tijuana and planned to keep it as a pet.
There was no word on if the passenger, a 21-year-old man, was also arrested.
Valencia faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
You wanted a few more pictures of this precious trafficked tiger cub? Here ya go. Story: https://t.co/oQqrrEEVQN #CBP pic.twitter.com/wvJ94GX3SY
— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) August 24, 2017
The San Diego Union Tribune reports that he cub is being cared for at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.