A Reading man has been sentenced in federal court for operating a disturbing business that saw him traffic over 100 body parts from various endangered and protected species into the country, including orangutan and tiger skulls to jaguar skin and pangolins, and selling them for a profit.
U.S. Senior District Court Judge Dennis Saylow IV sentenced Adam Bied, 40, on Thursday to eight months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release, according to court documents. Bied is also ordered to pay a $75,000 fine that will go toward funding wildlife enforcement. Bied pleaded guilty back in January to two counts of conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States and two counts of violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking in wildlife. He was arrested and charged in June 2024.
“Trafficking in the remains of endangered and protected animals is not a collector’s hobby – it is a crime that fuels the exploitation of vulnerable species around the world. As the Department of Justice has made clear, protecting animal welfare and enforcing our wildlife laws is a priority,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a written statement.
“This defendant knowingly smuggled and profited from the killing of protected animals – some of which were slaughtered at his direction – undermining global conservation efforts. Today’s sentence holds him accountable and sends a clear message: those who traffic in wildlife will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.
Prosecutors say that Bied began the illegal enterprise at least as early as January 2018 and continued selling wildlife parts until June 2021, knowingly violating the ESA and the Lacey Act and also failing to declare the imported wildlife to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. He would place orders for specific animal body parts with co-conspirators in Cameroon and Indonesia, who would acquire and kill the wildlife for Bied. Once received in the United States, Bied resold the parts for a profit and conducted trades.
Investigators uncovered text messages between Bied and his co-conspirator in Cameroon, where the two discussed hunting and killing the wildlife he desired, while also highlighting the strains on their business caused by the ongoing civil war in that country.
“For example, in June 2018, when CC-1 told Bied that he was unable to obtain bullets for hunting wildlife due to the ongoing civil war, Bied offered to send him bullets. After CC-1 said he could go to jail if he is caught receiving ammunition during the ongoing civil war, Bied offered to send him money for bullets in exchange for skulls, including, as they discussed, chimpanzee skulls,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“Bied also requested a gorilla skull. Both gorillas and chimpanzees are endangered, and most gorilla species are critically endangered. Bied also sought to purchase skulls from elephants, lions, hippos, and other “rare” and “large animals,” it said, adding that in another exchange, Bied requested that none of the skulls sent to him have bullet holes.
In another exchange, Bied was apparently at an educational exhibit at a zoo with a display about illegal wildlife trafficking. After seeing a pangolin featured in the display as “the most heavily trafficked wild mammal” in the world, Bied texted his co-conspirator later that day, asking to purchase a pangolin skull. All subspecies of pangolins are protected under CITES.
The feds also looked over Bied’s sickening business partnership with his co-conspirator in Indonesia, who Bied purchased multiple orangutan and Javan leopard skulls from. Both of those species are critically endangered.
Bied later sold two illegally imported leopard skulls to an undercover federal agent. During the negotiations over one skull, Bied lied about its origin, falsely claiming to the agent that the leopard skull was at least 60 years old and that he had purchased it at an auction. In reality, the skull had been illegally imported from Indonesia.
“Our agency works diligently to combat the illegal international trafficking of wildlife parts due to its devastating effect on a wide variety of vulnerable species,” Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Doug Ault said. “In their quest for quick profit, wildlife smugglers push critically endangered animals toward the edge of extinction and undermine global conservation efforts. Halting this illegal trade remains one of our highest priorities and together with the Department of Justice, we will bring those responsible to justice.”
The wildlife that Bied unlawfully imported and conspired to import was protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). None of the wildlife Bied imported was declared as required by law, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.
In all, investigators seized orangutan skulls; tiger skulls; leopard skin, skulls and a claw; jaguar skin and skulls, African lion skulls; a polar bear skull; a Narwhal tusk; an otter skeleton; a Harp seal skull; a pangolin skull; a South American fur seal skull; an elephant seal skull; babirusa skulls; Mandrillus skulls, a wallaby skull and a jackal skull.
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