Nice find. I read the Economist piece back then and found it quite wild. Good to know it wasn't as crazy as portrayed. Still, the Lacey Act seems like it could easily be abused, given that old, outdated laws tend to linger.
Funny how disinformation can spread so easily. Reading that stackexchange link throws a different shade entirely.
The article, which is about the real subject of american incarceration rate, present those dudes as innocent bystanders commiting a minor offence which should not even be an offence. On the other hand, these guys have been illegaly exploiting wild life in a foreign country for almost a decade and got jailed.