An Indian national caught with illegally poached animals has been jailed after he reoffended, having avoided going to jail the first time.
Keerthi Raja Eswaran pleaded guilty to eight charges of trying to remove wildlife, including protected wildlife, such as straw neck ibis and orange-footed scrub fowl skulls from the Northern Territory.
The alleged offences were committed between July and October last year. Investigators also found Chinese freshwater turtles, chipmunk tails, ostrich eye rings and skulls of the eastern grey kangaroos, among other protected wildlife at his home in Palmerston in the Northern Territory.
He had the wildlife listed on an e-commerce website for sale.
In 2017, the 35-year-old former taxidermist was handed a 10-month sentence, wholly suspended after he pleaded guilty to a record 350 charges relating to the sale and possession of wildlife, including some endangered animals.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to three charges relating to possessing firearms without licence, possessing and storing wildlife and selling it online.
The authorities became aware of his illegal activities when they found a parcel containing skulls addressed to a collector in the US.
On Friday, Mr Eswaran pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Darwin to fresh charges related to wildlife poaching. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison, including his prior sentence of ten months that was suspended. He will be eligible for parole in June next year.
He plans to return to India after he has served his sentence.
