US agents hook man for importing 40,000 pirahnas

A man in the US was snapped and fined for importing 40,000 piranhas into the country, violating state and federal laws.

Joel Rakower pleaded guilty in a federal court to smuggling the South American fish into New York on Wednesday and was fined nearly $80,000 for violating the Lacey Act which covers the trafficking of illegal flora and fauna.

Rakower purchased the viscously territorial fish from a dealer in Hong Kong and brought them into the US by labelling them as tetras, a more common and placid fish.

The New Yorker smuggled 39,548 piranhas through his Brooklyn company between 2011 and 2012, earning him around $42,500.

Prosecutor Richard Brown said Rakower was "driven by greed and without regard for the health and safety of people or the environment".

The animal trafficker, who has been in tropical fish supplies for more than 30 years, said he made an error in judgement and is now paying for it.

He will be sentenced on April 24 and his company has been put on a two-year probation.