‘Lizard King’ charged with wildlife smuggling

A South Florida wildlife dealer who gained fame as “the Lizard King” was charged Tuesday with running an operation that smuggled turtles from Florida to China, Japan and other countries.

Michael Van Nostrand and his company Strictly Reptiles of Davie were both charged by federal prosecutors with running a network of collectors who caught turtles in the wild. Van Nostrand then falsely labeled the turtles as captive-bred on export documents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Van Nostrand, 54, is a prominent international wildlife dealer who was the subject of the best-selling book “The Lizard King” about his quest for rare pythons, boa constrictors and other reptiles that could command prices in the tens of thousands of dollars. He previously has been convicted of wildlife smuggling.

Florida banned the commercial catch of turtles in 2009, as the heavy demand in Asia threatened to deplete the state’s turtle population. In Asia the turtles are used for meat, as ingredients in traditional medicine and as pets.

“Van Nostrand, Strictly Reptiles, and their co-conspirators trafficked hundreds of illegally-harvested Florida turtles for profit, including the principal species — Florida three-stripe mud turtles,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Van Nostrand declined comment and said he would pass a reporter’s phone number to his lawyer.

Van Nostrand and his company were charged with conspiring to illegally traffic wildlife. Van Nostrand, who made his first appearance in federal magistrate court Tuesday in Miami, faces up to five years in prison and a fine of at least $250,000.

In 1998, Van Nostrand was sentenced to eight months in prison for buying smuggled Argentine boas, tegu lizards and other wildlife. He also was required to pay $250,000 to the World Wildlife Fund.