Two Malaysian business partners pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally smuggling endangered wildlife skulls, tusks, bird beaks and other artifacts into the United States.

Eoin Ling Churn Yeng, or "Ling,'' 35, and Galvin Yeo Siang Ann, or "Yeo,'' 33, were sentenced to spend six months in federal prison.

The two operated an online business called Borneo Artifact, shipping packages of wildlife parts from the island of Borneo in Malaysia to the U.S. via mail, claiming the parcels of orangutan skulls or barbirusa wild boar tusks were "crafts'' for decoration, according to federal authorities.

The crimes lasted a decade, from about 2005 to 2015, and the pair smuggled about $95,000 worth of endangered wildlife parts into the United States, the investigation found.

The investigation began in 2013 when a routine search of an international package from a business in Indonesia revealed a helmeted hornbill jawbone destined for a residence in Forest Grove. The birds are listed as endangered.

An undercover agent from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service bought an orangutan skull and one turtle shell from the Oregon resident, who ended up turning into a cooperating witness. He provided investigators with a grocery list of the protected wildlife parts that he paid for and received from Borneo Artifact: turtle shells, orangutan skulls, a langur skull and primate skull.

"Who in the world would buy that?'' U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones asked before issuing the sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan W. Bounds told the judge that a market exists among collectors around the world. The Oregon buyer ran a hobby business and resold the parts to third parties, Bounds said.

"It's like a trophy,'' Fish & Wildlife special agent Paul Montuori said after the hearing. An orangutan skull - depending on whether it's that of a male or female - can fetch $1,000 to $2,000, he said.

Financial records showed that the Oregon buyer sent the Malaysian businessmen $14,000 in 16 separate PayPal transactions between 2008 and 2014. In return, they shipped him about 12 protected wildlife parts.

The undercover agent working on the case ultimately lured the Malaysian sellers to Portland, leading to their arrest in December. The investigation was dubbed "Operation Pongo'' for the orangutan genus Pongo.

The maximum sentence for smuggling illegal wildlife artifacts is five years and a $250,000 fine.

Through a plea agreement, the Malaysian businessmen each received six months in prison and must each pay $12,500 and complete 240 hours of community service. Once they've completed their sentences, they'll be returned to Malaysia, according to federal authorities.

Their fines will go to the Lacey Act Fund to support wildlife services preservation, Bounds said.

Ling and Yeo, in emails obtained by investigators, said their first business customer was an American who bought a monkey skull necklace. The two partners shared the same eBay and gmail accounts to monitor daily transactions.

They relied on "runners'' who fanned out across Malaysia and Indonesia in search of the artifacts. Ling compared the runners to Smeagol from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy who was endlessly in "search for precious,'' according to the federal complaint.

Investigators obtained emails between the business partners and the Oregon buyer.

In May 2011, after a primate skull headed to the Oregon home was intercepted by the U.S. Forest and Wildlife Service in Torrance, California, the Oregon man alerted the Malaysian business owners of his misfortune in an email.

"Some distressing news today. I received an envelope in the mail that informed me that the Macaque Skull you sent has been seized and is subject to forfeiture. Their claim has to do with acquisition of endangered species and -- if the US Fish and Wildlife Services decides to -- they can turn it over to a Federal court and the Attorney General's Office. That is not good news for me since I am the rightful owner,'' the Forest Grove man wrote.

According to federal court records, Yeo wrote back, "i am sad to hear this but very important: never admit that you have interest in this thing and buy it, because it is an offence (sic) for buying this item! easiest way is to say you have no idea who sent that to you and you totally have no intention of owning it, buying it or interested in it. u can say that it could be some friends that you made during your vacations and they send this to you as friendship and gifts.''

Montuori wrote in a federal complaint that Ling sent the government's cooperating witness photos of hundreds of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora," better known as CITES.

The images captured 16 orangutan skulls, 13 bear skulls, 210 bear claws, 29 bear teeth, 18 unspecified primate skulls, 20 whale bone hairpins, two dugong (marine animals), one babirusa (wild boar) skull, 17 helmeted hornbill earrings, nine helmeted hornbill skulls, and 12 rhinoceros hornbill heads, according to Montuori's complaint.

Between 2006 and 2013, federal agents intercepted seven packages to the United States from Borneo Artifact that were headed to other homes in the United States.

By June 2015, Montuori used the Oregon recipient's email to covertly communicate with the Malaysian business and ordered other endangered wildlife parts from the company.

The federal agent posing as a customer expressed interest in an item listed on their website as "organic bone from the sea.'' Ling responded that the whale bones were purchased from Indonesian islands and explained, "I'll be hot soup (or worst gunned down by FBI) and removed by ebay if stated they are whale bones on ebay.''

Later that month, Yeo sent babirusa jaws, split between four packages, and shipped tusks separate from the skull. Separating the jaws into separate packages would make it harder for federal officials to determine its species, Ling told the agent, according to court documents.

In another email obtained by federal officials, Ling continued with his "Lord of the Rings" analogy, writing, "There are many runners in this business, each and everyone of them are EAGER to find and please his master. It all comes down to money, which can be a bad thing when they come with TONNES of stuff when u only seek for a few."

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Deputy Chief Edward Grace commended the prosecution.

"Orangutans are one of the rarest great ape species on Earth, and the desire to possess a skull from one as tourist art or trophy in someone's collection will not be tolerated,'' he said in a prepared statement.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian