The alligator gar - named for its toothy snout and stretching up to 10 feet in length - has become the latest trophy piece for aquariums of the wealthy in Japan.

At the same time, the Trinity River is recognized as one of the world's premiere spots that remains populated with the largest specimens of this primitive behemoth whose numbers are diminishing in other states.

Now three men from Florida and Indiana have been indicted this week and are accused of removing four of these gars - the largest exclusively freshwater fish in North America - from the Trinity and smuggling them alive into Tokyo without proper permits and licenses.

Two Tokyo dealers paid the smugglers $15,000 to procure the specimens, said U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent Jim Stinebaugh. Each fish was about 4 feet long, but if an 8-footer had been found that would have been worth $40,000 on the Japanese "monster" fish market, Loren Willis told authorities.

Willis, 62, of Eminence, Ind.; Gerard Longo, 46, of Greenacres, Fla.; and Michael Rambarran, 55, of Miami, are accused of conspiring to illegally transport the fish without obtaining a commercial fisherman's license, fish dealer's license and non-game fish permit.

If convicted, each could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.

According to Stinebaugh's sworn affidavit, Willis and Longo helped the Tokyo dealers catch the four fish about eight months ago during a fishing trip on the Trinity River.

Taken to Florida by van

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They later were stopped from shipping the live gars to Japan from George Bush Intercontinental Airport because they could not produce proper permits.

As a result, investigators allege, the pair used a van to transport the fish to West Palm Beach, Fla. There they were kept in a swimming pool until arrangements were made with Ornamental Fish Distributors Inc., owned by Rambarran, to ship them to Japan.

Rambarran, although licensed to import and export wildlife, did not have sufficient documentation for the fish. Authorities said he falsely alleged the gars had been "farm raised" and not taken from the wild.

However, a day after the fish were shipped, an investigation began and the plot unraveled, authorities said.

Stinebaugh stated in his sworn affidavit that this appeared to be an ongoing business venture. He produced an email from Willis in which he told other business partners that he wanted "10,000 babies" next year to keep in a swimming pool until ready to ship.

Once seen as 'trash fish'

Stinebaugh said he has seen photographs of giant tanks used to display gars in offices and living rooms in Japan. "They were big aquariums. A person couldn't do laps in them but they could paddle around," he said.

For many years, alligator gars had been considered "trash fish" and little was known about them, said Bob Betsill, Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries' research program director.

Recent studies detected a substantial decline in the population of the once abundant fish.

"We are not sure yet what has caused the drop," Betsill said, noting that it might be dam construction or other destruction of the fish habitat. Some northern states no longer have viable populations and require stocking.

The gars, which can live to be 50 years old, like to lay eggs in flood zones and don't breed every year, Betsill said.

To protect the species, Texas has begun tagging and monitoring the giant gars and restricted licensed fishermen to catching only one per day.

State and federal investigators, however, say this is the first time they can recall anyone being indicted for smuggling this species.

"It's the first I've heard of it," Betsill said.

cindy.horswell@chron.com