Three men from the Crow Reservation in Montana have been charged with illegal trafficking of eagles and migratory birds.

William E. Hugs Sr., 51, is charged with six counts of violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Act. His son, William E. Hugs Jr., 22, is facing five counts.

Another man from the reservation, Ernie Lemuel Stewart, 33, is charged with one count. He's also facing a similar indictment in South Dakota, The Billings Gazette reported.

The arrests are part of Operation Rolling Thunder in which agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted an undercover sting into the trafficking of eagle feathers, eagle parts and other birds.

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3 charged in illegal eagle trafficking case (The Billings Gazette 6/15)

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