Georgia deputies arrest known turtle smuggler, charge him with abusing reptiles, warrant says

Caption

A red-eared slider turtle swims in a tank in Ohio in this file photo. A South Carolina native with a history of illegally trafficking turtles was charged with abusing 15 turtles at his east Macon home.

Credit: Adam Cairns/Imagn

The Bibb County jail holds people charged with everything from murder to tax fraud.

But turtle smuggling? That’s unheard of. Until this week, at least.

Bibb sheriff’s deputies charged South Carolina native Steven Verren Baker, 43, with abusing 15 of the web-footed critters at a house in east Macon, a sheriff’s office arrest warrant said.

Baker established himself as a reptile racketeer of sorts, his criminal history shows. He did time in federal prison in 2019 for acting as the ringleader of an illegal turtle trafficking business, a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of South Carolina read.

The turtles were sold from South Carolina to Asian businessmen on the black market, the statement read. The reptile sales were connected to a larger scandal involving sellers in Hong Kong and New York.

While Baker had not yet sold the 15 turtles he’d taken in Macon, he was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated animal cruelty for mistreating a variety of species. The group of sliders, side necks and more were abused to the point of blindness, sepsis and fungal infections, the warrant said.

The turtles ranged in type from rare albinos to the Chinese golden thread turtle, which is considered endangered in the wild, according to Reptiles Magazine.

Baker’s underground animal trade stretches back further. The State, a newspaper in Columbia, S.C., reported that before Baker sold turtles under the table in 2019, he was charged with wildlife trafficking another time in 2016.

Baker’s 2019 turtle-selling scheme unraveled when inspectors opened packages at New York’s JFK International Airport to find turtles nested in piles of noodles and candy, The State reported. A New York seller then led investigators to Baker’s operation in South Carolina.

Baker was still listed on the Bibb County jail website Thursday morning with a bond of $8,250. It was unclear in the warrant how long he’d been in Macon before his arrest.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.