A 66-year-old woman described by federal prosecutors as a resident of Tijuana was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border, one day before customs officers found 69 live animals hidden in her Volkswagen — including venomous vipers, caimans and a baby crocodile — allegedly packed inside taped-up pillowcases, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Georgina Bribiesca Chavez, of Tijuana, was taken into custody Aug. 10 as she tried to enter the United States through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the Justice Department said. Prosecutors said Chavez told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer she had nothing to declare, but a records check turned up an outstanding warrant connected to a wildlife trafficking investigation.
CBP officers seized the Volkswagen, though the animals were not found until a search the next morning. During that inspection, authorities discovered a hidden factory compartment behind the rear seat filled with pillowcases that had been tied shut and wrapped with tape.
Georgina Bribiesca Chavez is shown at a Carlsbad outlet shopping center on March 5, 2025, left, and at a San Diego shipping center during an investigation into alleged wildlife trafficking. (United States Department of Justice)
One pillowcase appeared to be moving.
The bags were transported to the San Diego Zoo, where staff found 60 abronia lizards, four venomous yellow-blotched palm pit vipers, three caimans, a baby crocodile and an indigo snake, the DOJ said.
Federal prosecutors said Chavez did not alert officers to the animals, leaving them inside the vehicle for almost 24 hours in August heat. All three caimans died. The remaining animals were stable and still under the care of the zoo as of last week.
Chavez has pleaded not guilty to a federal wildlife trafficking charge and was ordered detained without bond. Her alleged trafficking partner, Salvador Pelayo, 28, of Chula Vista, was arrested in July and has also entered a not guilty plea.
Protected turtles involved in an undercover federal investigation into an alleged wildlife trafficking operation across the U.S.-Mexico border. (United States Department of Justice)
The arrests followed an approximately 18-month undercover investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, though prosecutors allege Chavez and Pelayo had trafficked wildlife together since 2023 and made tens of thousands of dollars selling exotic animals.
During one alleged undercover transaction in March 2025, Chavez delivered four protected Mexican box turtles to an agent for $2,600 cash shortly after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. All four turtles later died after being transferred to the Oakland Zoo, prosecutors said. The turtles were already in poor health when they were acquired during the undercover operation and were believed to have been wild-caught and suffering from respiratory disease, according to prosecutors.
Pelayo is separately accused of using the alias “Jose Lopez” to ship four protected Mexican and Yucatan box turtles to an undercover agent in New York.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the case with assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A baby crocodile, left, and another caiman are shown after being recovered from a vehicle at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The caimans died before San Diego Zoo workers could provide care, according to federal prosecutors. (United States Department of Justice)
Chavez and Pelayo face Lacey Act trafficking charges carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
