Wei Qiang Lin, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty on Monday in a federal district court in New York to exporting more than 220 parcels containing around 850 eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles.

The justice department said the live turtles had been wrapped in socks for the weeks-long journey and the boxes with the reptiles had been labeled as containing “plastic animal toys”.

The turtles, which had a market value of US$1.4 million, were intercepted by law enforcement at a border inspection, it said.

Eastern box turtles and three-toed box turtles feature colorful markings and are a “prized feature in the domestic and foreign pet market, particularly in China and Hong Kong”, the justice department said in a statement.

It said they are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Sentencing was set for Dec 23. Lin faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to US$250,000.