Man 'smuggled iguanas inside his prosthetic leg'

A man has been charged with stealing three endangered iguanas from a nature preserve in Fiji and smuggling them into the US in his prosthetic leg.

Jereme James, 33, faces a single count of smuggling, according to court papers in Los Angeles. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Prosecutors say he stole the Fiji Island banded iguanas while visiting the South Pacific island in September 2002. He then brought the reptiles to the US by hiding them in a special compartment he had constructed in his prosthetic leg, prosecutors said.

James, who has been bailed, will be summoned to appear in court next month.

James came under scrutiny several years ago when someone informed US Fish and Wildlife Service officials that he had several of the neon green iguanas, which are protected under an international treaty regulating trade in endangered species.