Canadian, Kai Xu, 27, smuggled or attempted to smuggle over 1,000 turtles within the state. However, it is illegal to export wildlife without a government-issued license in the US.

Last year he was caught with 51 of the critters taped to his body.

Mr Xu would buy them online, travel to the US to collect them and then take them back to Ontario or ship them to China. He now faces a jail term of up to ten years.

Court documents state that as he tried to cross the border from Detroit into Windsor, Ontario, last August he was intercepted with 41 turtles strapped to his legs and ten between his legs.

Little did he know, he was being watched by a special agent from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The documents state: “Special Agent (James) Fuller noticed irregularly shaped bulges under Xu’s sweatpants on both his legs.”