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A 19-year-old Malaysian man has been charged with trying to smuggle live native lizards from Australia.
Australian Border Force and Wildlife Service officers are said to have found geckos, spiders and scorpions at an address in the Perth suburb of Subiaco yesterday.
The wild animals as well as three digital devices were seized.
The teenager was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of attempting to export a regulated domestic specimen.
The investigation came after an air cargo company alerted authorities to three lizards found in a shipment labeled “toys” bound for Malaysia in February.
“It is suspected that the lizards were intended for sale through the lucrative international wildlife market,” the Australian Border Service said.
A public appeal for information led to several credible tips, which Australian Border Force Assistant Commissioner Chris Waters said helped investigators make the arrest.
“This is an outstanding result that has likely prevented even more Australian wildlife from being shipped overseas for profit – a practice that is not only cruel, but many of the animals smuggled in this way unfortunately do not survive the journey.” , he said.
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