US Dealer Involved in Smuggling revealed in court documents

[patrick86]

Patrick,
not really correct, see AphonopelmaTX reply
That would be correct

Ana,

We're both basically saying the same thing. P got caught then decided to work with the Feds.

 

[Philth]

I'm willing to bet that Paul will not respond to any of this

Thats why its in everyone's interest reading this to keep it civil until he does, so we dont get shut down Its not like anyone is looking at this thread with 2,000+ views in 5-6 hours

Later, Tom

 

[Necromion]

Right now I think that we should also worry about any repercussions this may have on the future of the hobby, Because I know that if it wasn't for guys like Ken the only species I could get is overpriced G. rosea and A. avic. I don't imagine that this will bring about the end of the hobby but it could change the publics view of the hobby, I'm pretty sure we don't want to end up like the way the reptile hobby is.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana,

We're both basically saying the same thing. P got caught then decided to work with the Feds.

plain simple, got caught and bought himself out jail
You are correct, Sir

 

[AF Exotics]

About time

I don't say much here ,as I am still learning so much from this forum .I have mainly been a reptile enthusiast ,but over the past few years of dealing with importing ,I have become good friends with Ken and Sam and Naomi at GBU Enterprises and a few other Invert dealers .I think most of this community does a very good job of policing itself .


I would really like to chime in on Ken's behalf ,and feel what I do as a business directly affects this discussion .Ken ,over the past few years has used my services numerous times to LEGALLY import a large share of his shipments .I am a licensed I/E and I am a self filer who does my own brokerage ,and I carry a bond for these purposes .I know personally that Ken ,like Todd also ,have been approached by exporters abroad who want to cut corners .I know this is a common occurrence .It is easy to fall prey to the temptation ,but I believe they have both made the right decisions with these matters .Yes ,I am paid for my services ,yes they are done above board and in full compliance with any government entity who has legal jurisdiction over what I do .




Yes,you as customers will pay more because of what these dealers do ,when choosing to do it legally ,but in the end ,you can see how one person can easily put a black eye on full blast for the uneducated public to get a kick out of .Remember ,right now " a new Supersnake is attacking Florida " as we speak .I guess T's with ninja like skills and nuclear arms are next .It doesn't take much to make us all look bad .Support the dealers who are doing it right .And even if Ken started doing his own imports and never used my services again ,it wouldn't change the fact that there is only ONE WAY to do it legally . One last thing ."I AGREE WITH JOE" .Always wanted to say that .:clap:

 

[Codiejackson88]

Soooo, is it illegal to ship Inverts in the US. Like state to state? Or was the "brown boxing" just an international thing?

 

[0siris]

From an unbiased perspective,

I don't know Paul, I don't know what kind of person he is and quite frankly I don't care. Just from reading some of the documents he was apparently involved in trapping and illegally importing tarantulas. In the end, is an explanation from him personally really going to solve the issue? Unlikely.

We know now that at least until further notice it is best not to purchase from him.

It is good that these documents were posted, but the ensuing discussion and insults are completely unnecessary.

 

[KenTheBugGuy]

no

Soooo, is it illegal to ship Inverts in the US. Like state to state? Or was the "brown boxing" just an international thing?

Overseas only....you have to go through customs when importing which cost money. Also you have to send them through a port of entry through an Airline which can cost more too.

 

[Kirk]

It is good that these documents were posted, but the ensuing discussion and insults are completely unnecessary.

I disagree that discussion is unnecessary. When what appear to be conflicting points of view begin to surface, as has been the case since the Koppler incident arose, and we're presented official documents thanks to Ken, yet we also see statements such as this, constructive and informative discussion can be the best thing for the hobby. It's certainly been educational for me.

 

[DamoK21]

wow, how innconvenient this is for those who stated about a thousand times..... Im innocent, and, i dont o you nothing !!! not 1 answer....

 

[malhomme]

I disagree that discussion is unnecessary. When what appear to be conflicting points of view begin to surface, as has been the case since the Koppler incident arose, and we're presented official documents thanks to Ken, yet we also see statements such as this, constructive and informative discussion can be the best thing for the hobby. It's certainly been educational for me.

I noticed that he is "Sold Out" of those.
Ethics & Responsibility

Pity.

 

[Gnat]

almost

over the past 2 years i have several times looked at Paul's site in search of my next invert pet purchase. the only reason i have not bought any animal from him is I didnt like the way the website looked. for some reason i always thought something was shady just from the layout of the site. im glad i went with my gut and bought my inverts from other dealers.
Charles

 

[mcluskyisms]

Im glad the truth is finally out.For many people (myself included)it was rather obvious who has been doing all the brownboxing out of Cali....I just hope now people will make the right choice and stop buying from people like this.What makes me pretty angry tho is that nothing happened to Paul yet Sven is sitting in prison...
Not only did he get off scott free he is still even selling the same smuggled stock on this very forum.
I think he should be blacklisted from the hobby or at least banned from the forum.
-Chris

I couldn't agree with you more. I think its disgraceful behavior in any walk of life when someone else uses an associate to take a bullet for them. Paul Becker is a disgrace to the hobby and people should cease trading with him on any level.

 

[BrynWilliams]

As far as I'm aware, Sven only ever dealt via email.

At the very least if you wanted a stock list that was the only way to get one.

Observationally, it is remarkable how the european market has slowed dramatically since Mr Kopplers arrest. Either other dealers are getting cold feet, or his influence within europe was very far reaching

NB: for those outside europe, there are no restrictions on shipments of non-pest species within the EU (i'm not 100% sure whether CITES is included in these, as far as i can see on DEFRA they are).

Does anyone know if Sven has a website, I'm just curious since his very famous in Europe but I never heard of him before this whole thing happened. I want to know what kind of person he is.

 

[Michiel]

more a matter of cold feet I think.....

 

[Unravel]

Its almost kind of sad how low-profit the whole operation was. 100k since 2008? That's working at mcdonalds for 3 years, or a little more than that. Not worth the risk.

What Paul did was crappy of course, but i cant imagine too many people doing it differently and taking the high road when it comes to your life being ruined. im sure he justified it to himself somehow, something like "i didn't do the actual smuggling"

Whatever, this is crappy for the hobby regardless on who you put the blame on.

 

[JC50]

I know that i personally will not do business with someone who obviously lets greed and shady practices dictate they way they conduct themselves as a business owner.I also believe that paul would still be making these deals if he had not been caught which in my opinion tells me he cares nothing about the hobby or the hobbyist.People like this give the hobby a bad name and gamble the future of the hobby with every shady transaction they are involved with and show no remorse when caught but are quick to hand over others to save themselves while conducting business like nothing happened.

 

[Najakeeper]

When "this" stops being a business and returns back to being a hobby, I will be happy again.

 

[Arachnoholic420]

plain simple, got caught and bought himself out jail

What a rat!!!!!
Plain and simple!!!
What ever happen to loyalty?
I got no love for snitches!!!

 

[paassatt]

When "this" stops being a business and returns back to being a hobby, I will be happy again.

I believe a hobby can also be a business without repercussions and being cast in a negative light if done ethically. "Business" shouldn't be such a taboo word.