A big game hunter was arrested in San Francisco trying to sneak eight rare animal carcasses into his luggage.

The hunter is identified as Jason Keith Bruce, who forged government documents to smuggle rare animals including Ladakh urial sheep, federal prosecutors said.

The 49-year-old was charged alongside Pakistani hunting expert Pir Danish Ali for the aforementioned attempt following their trip to Pakistan in 2018.

They could be facing significant jail time and thousands of dollars in fines if convicted.

An investigation is also underway by the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement into Ali’s company, who are facing charges of sneaking animal carcasses through airports.

Bruce allegedly paid $50,000 to Ali to help him kill the urial. Later they plan to ship the animal’s body back to the US by forging Pakistani official documents and labelling the carcass as from a different species.

The investigation revealed that at least 25 hunters allegedly used this tactic through Ali’s company and managed to smuggle upwards of 97 carcasses into the US between 2013 and 2018.

The population of the sheep has declined significantly in recent years, and according to indictment documents, Bruce was reportedly warned by Pir before their hunt that just 180 of the sheep had been logged in the area at the time.

The duo were indicted by a federal grand jury on March 23 for the plot. Both men are facing a five-year prison sentence and $250,000 if convicted.

Bruce, who was arrested on March 24, is also facing an additional 21-year sentence and a total of $300,000 in fines if convicted of smuggling and Endangered Species Act violations.