OU Student Sentenced For Smuggling Endangered Tortoises

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A University of Oklahoma zoology student has been sentenced to six months of home detention for smuggling endangered tortoises.<br/><br/>Timothy Colston pleaded guilty in May to receiving

Thursday, August 17th 2006, 6:08 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A University of Oklahoma zoology student has been sentenced to six months of home detention for smuggling endangered tortoises.

Timothy Colston pleaded guilty in May to receiving 20 Indian star tortoises that had been smuggled out of Bangladesh.

Colston acknowledged in federal court that what he did was wrong, even though he hoped to protect the endangered tortoises. He told a federal magistrate he's very passionate about working with animals, reptiles in particular.

Colston received the most-lenient punishment recommended under federal sentencing guidelines.

The tortoises, worth as much as $5,000, were shipped to Colston's business between March 2004 and January 2005. They were seized by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.