Consider that there's no "made in" label on a turtle or any means to validate the claim the owner made. The claim that something has been previously imported or bought in the US is no doubt the most frequent excuse of people seeking to bring things into the country, whether in violation of import restrictions or merely to avoid paying duty.
Unless there's a way to document the purchase and possession of the turtle in the country (for example, a video or photograph of the ship's contents, as are made for insurance purposes), then they'd be complete idiots to accept the owner's story.
Marco
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> Marco Anglesio | Optimism is the content <
> mpa at the-wire.com | of small men in high places. <
> http://www.the-wire.com/~mpa | --F. Scott Fitzgerald <
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