Malaysian charged in Australia with attempting to smuggle live lizards
Published on: Wednesday, May 08, 2024
By: FMT
Live native lizards that a 19-year-old Malaysian suspect attempted to smuggle out of Australia. (ABF pic)
PETALING JAYA: An Australian court charged a Malaysian man on Tuesday with attempting to smuggle live native lizards out of the country in February.
The 19-year-old suspect was slapped with one count of attempting to export a regulated native animal under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 at a magistrates’ court in Western Australia.
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According to the Australian Border Force (ABF), a probe was launched after an air cargo company in Perth discovered three lizards in a consignment bound for Malaysia, falsely declared as toys on Feb 29.
Together with wildlife officers from the biodiversity, conservation and attractions department, the ABF raided the suspect’s residence in Subiaco, Perth, on Monday.
A search of the house found various wildlife species including geckos, spiders and scorpions, alongside three unspecified digital devices.
ABF assistant commissioner Chris Waters credited a public tip-off for the successful raid and arrest.
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“This is an outstanding result which prevented even more Australian wildlife from being sent overseas for profit, a practice which is not only cruel but many of the animals smuggled this way sadly do not survive the journey,” he was quoted as saying.
Several Malaysians have been arrested for attempting to smuggle protected species such as tortoises, spiders, snakes and scorpions to other countries.
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Among them was Teo Boon Ching, a man dubbed as the “Godfather” of the illegal international wildlife trade, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail last September in the US.
Teo was alleged to be a member of a transnational criminal conspiracy engaged in the large-scale trafficking and smuggling of rhinoceros horns.
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