Idaho Fish and Game bust ‘network’ of poachers who illegally killed 35 animals
Seventeen men were convicted of poaching crimes in Idaho and two more are at large after a two-year investigation into a “network” of people illegally killing dozens of animals.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officers led the investigation after discovering a group of hunters they suspected of illegally taking game animals in the Magic Valley Region in October 2023, according to a news release from the agency. Officers surveilled the group and determined they were hunting mule deer without tags near the small town of Rogerson, which is south of Twin Falls about 20 miles from the Idaho-Nevada border.
The officers stopped four men – Robert Zeko, Nicholas Zeko, Darren George and Jeff George – in a traffic stop on Oct. 29, 2023, and found them in possession of five mule deer heads, according to the news release. Officials said the animals had been killed illegally and the rest of their bodies left to waste.
As Fish and Game worked with other agencies, including Nampa Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Boise Police Department, Oregon State Police, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, they uncovered several other individuals and numerous other poaching incidents in a “network” of wildlife crime, officials said.
The Twin Falls County Prosecutor’s Office charged 19 people with hunting violations related to the incidents.
Idaho Fish and Game said since 2016, the people illegally killed 32 mule deer, a bull moose, a swan and a bobcat.
The charges for individuals vary and include as many as 34 for Robert Zeko, who later pleaded guilty to four felony charges in exchange for having the remainder of his charges dropped.
The Fish and Game news release said Robert and Nicholas Zeko and another person involved in the poaching network, Bobby Ephrem, lost their hunting privileges for life. Darren George, Jeff George, Chuck Costello and Steve Marks lost their hunting license privileges for 15 years.
Fish and Game said 10 other individuals, who were not publicly identified, faced fines, jail time and/or had their hunting licenses revoked as part of their sentences.
The total fines for the 17 people total $48,631 in reimbursement for the illegally killed animals, the news release said.