“WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING HAS CONSEQUENCES”

A federal wildlife-trafficking prosecution in Massachusetts provides a disturbing look behind the statistics of the illegal wildlife trade.

On April 2, 2026, Adam Bied of Reading, Massachusetts, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $75,000 fine to support wildlife enforcement efforts.

Bied had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle illegally imported wildlife parts into the United States and violations of the Lacey Act.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between 2018 and 2021 Bied bought, sold and traded wildlife parts from threatened and endangered species. He placed orders with individuals in Cameroon and Indonesia involved in killing and acquiring wildlife, received the parts illegally in the United States, and resold or traded them to American customers.

The details reveal the reality behind the word trafficking.

Federal investigators documented discussions involving chimpanzees, gorillas, pangolins, orangutans, leopards, elephants, lions and hippos. In one exchange, Bied offered money for ammunition in return for skulls. In another, he told a supplier:

“I need rare things for my customers.”

Wildlife parts were concealed from authorities and falsely labeled as items such as “decorative masks” and “rodents.” Bied later sold two illegally imported leopard skulls to an undercover federal agent.

Authorities ultimately seized more than 100 wildlife parts from his residence, storage unit and vehicle—including orangutan and tiger skulls, leopard and jaguar skins, African lion skulls, a polar bear skull, a narwhal tusk and a pangolin skull.

Many came from endangered, threatened or otherwise protected species.

This case demonstrates an important reality:

Wildlife trafficking does not end with the poacher.

It survives through the buyers, collectors, dealers and customers who create a market for wildlife—and through the networks willing to kill and smuggle animals to supply it.

Accountability is an essential part of disrupting that chain.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office — District of Massachusetts

April 2, 2026

Complete Press Release:
Massachusetts Man Sentenced to Prison for Wildlife Trafficking