A 66-year-old woman described by federal prosecutors as a Tijuana resident was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border before officers discovered 69 live animals hidden in her Volkswagen, including venomous vipers, caimans and a baby crocodile, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Georgina Bribiesca Chavez, of Tijuana, was taken into custody on 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 Customs and Border Protection officer she had nothing to declare, but a records check showed she was wanted on an outstanding warrant connected to a wildlife trafficking investigation.
CBP seized her Volkswagen after the arrest, though the animals were not found until officers searched the vehicle the next morning.
During that inspection, officers discovered a hidden factory compartment behind the rear seat packed with pillowcases that had been knotted closed and secured with tape.
One of the pillowcases was visibly 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, according to the DOJ.
Federal prosecutors said Chavez did not alert officers to the animals, which remained inside the vehicle for nearly 24 hours in August heat. All three caimans died.
The other animals were stable and remained in the zoo’s care as of last week.
Chavez pleaded not guilty to a federal wildlife trafficking charge and was ordered held without bond.
Her alleged trafficking partner, Salvador Pelayo, 28, of Chula Vista, was arrested in July and has also pleaded not guilty.
The arrests followed an approximately 18-month undercover investigation by the US 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 US-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 US 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.
Chavez and Pelayo face Lacey Act trafficking charges carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
