TAMPA, Fla.: A Florida man has been sentenced to 90 days of home detention and 288 hours of community service for his part in a trafficking scheme in which live water monitor lizards were stuffed into socks and concealed inside electronics to be smuggled from the Philippines to the United States.
Akbar Akram, 44, was sentenced earlier this month in Tampa federal court. He pleaded guilty in January to one count of wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act and the the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Treaty, court records show.
Akram admitted to illegally importing more than 20 live water monitor lizards from the Philippines in 2016, a U.S. Justice Department statement said. He avoided customs authorities by placing the lizards in socks, which were sealed closed with tape and concealed…