Two Arrested & Charged With Wildlife Trafficking After 69 Reptiles Found Hidden In Car
Photo Credits: U.S. Department of Justice
Federal authorities have charged two people in connection with an alleged years-long wildlife trafficking operation involving protected reptiles smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Georgina Bribiesca Chavez, 66, of Tijuana, Mexico, appeared in federal court after being charged with wildlife trafficking. Her alleged trafficking partner, Salvador Pelayo, 28, of Chula Vista, was arrested in July and faces a similar federal charge involving exotic wildlife.
Chavez was arrested on August 10, 2026, while attempting to enter the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry. According to court documents, she told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer that she had nothing to declare. During an identification check, the officer discovered an outstanding arrest warrant connected to a long-term wildlife trafficking investigation. Chavez was taken into custody and her red Volkswagen was seized.
The following morning, CBP officers inspecting the vehicle discovered a concealed factory compartment behind the rear bench seat. Inside were pillowcases that had been knotted shut and sealed with tape. One of the bags was moving.
The pillowcases were later transported to the San Diego Zoo, where staff discovered 60 Abronia lizards, four venomous yellow-blotched palm pit vipers, three caimans, one baby crocodile, and one indigo snake. Several of the species are protected under international treaties because of their endangered or threatened status.
Authorities allege that Chavez never told CBP officers that live animals were hidden inside the vehicle, leaving them confined for nearly 24 hours in the August heat in San Ysidro. All three caimans died before they could receive care. As of last week, the surviving animals were stable and remained under care.
“These animals were not cargo—they were living creatures subjected to dangerous conditions for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.
Chavez and Pelayo have both pleaded not guilty. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt ordered Chavez held without bond pending trial.
Court documents allege that Chavez and Pelayo began working together in 2023 to traffic wildlife into the United States and sell the animals to American buyers. Investigators with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched an undercover investigation approximately 18 months ago, during which authorities say the pair participated in several undercover transactions involving protected turtles and were observed sending and receiving wildlife at shipping centers around San Diego.
In March 2025, undercover agents allegedly purchased four protected Mexican box turtles from Pelayo and a partner in Mexico. Chavez later met an undercover agent and delivered the animals just hours after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for $2,600 in cash.
The turtles, which were in poor health, were transferred for care. Authorities said their condition was likely due to being captured from the wild and contracting a respiratory disease. By May 2025, all four had sadly died.
In a separate alleged transaction that month, four protected Mexican and Yucatán box turtles were smuggled into the United States. Authorities say Pelayo used the false name “Jose Lopez” to ship the animals to an undercover agent in New York. The turtles were received the following day and transferred for care.
Federal authorities believe Chavez and Pelayo trafficked exotic wildlife together for several years and allegedly made tens of thousands of dollars selling animals to buyers in the United States. Court records also allege that they trafficked wildlife from the United States into Mexico, including Eastern box turtles native to New York that Chavez allegedly smuggled across the border in the trunk of her Volkswagen.
Chavez is scheduled to return to court on August 27, 2026, for a preliminary hearing. Pelayo’s next hearing is scheduled for October 2, 2026.
