Wildlife officers in Queensland have intercepted illegal shipments of dozens of rare lizards hidden in rice cookers, destined for China.
Authorities were alerted to the attempted smuggling when Australia Post staff discovered "unexplainable shadows" on x-rays of the new cookers.
Among those found inside were "extremely high value" animals, including a species of Western Pilbara Singleback and skink species "previously unknown to science", Warren Christensen, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service southern operations co-ordinator, said.
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He said the bid to move 78 reptiles on the black market, estimated to be worth between $750,000 and $1 million, was a sophisticated operation.
Some of the lizards were worth up to $5000 each and hidden in six packages intercepted at the Brisbane International Mail Gateway Centre in 2018 and 2019.
The joint operation involved Queensland's Environment and Science Department, state police and the federal Agriculture, Water and Environment Department's environmental crime team.
https://twitter.com/QldEnvironment/status/1286477389883682816?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwFollowing the intercept, a 28-year-old Taiwanese man was arrested in Victoria and charged with 67 offences including aggravated cruelty to an animal. He has since been deported after being sentenced to six months in prison.
The reptiles had been "placed inside socks or cloth packaging, with elastic binding their legs to their bodies" to stop them moving.
A number of the reptiles did not survive the ordeal. While the others did not make it onto the black market, the animals can also not be released into the wild as it is unclear where they were captured and if they had been exposed to disease.
Mr Christensen said the survivors would instead remain in captivity as part of breeding programs and educating the public about the illegal wildlife trade.
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