Wildlife traffickers plead guilty to illegally importing sea cucumbers

Zunyu Zhao and Xionwei Xiao made the plea in a California federal court for smuggling the marine life from Mexico

Wildlife traffickers pleaded guilty this week in federal court in California to illegally importing endangered sea cucumbers - which are prized in China for food and medicine and as a reputed aphrodisiac - from Mexico.

Zunyu Zhao and Xionwei Xiao were charged with conspiracy and illegal importing of brown sea cucumbers worth over $10,000 from 2017 to 2019 and are scheduled to be sentenced in September and November, respectively.