MT News
14 September 2023
Chinese customs officials made a shocking exotic pet trade discovery when they seized 16 live sailfin lizards concealed within a woman’s undergarments. The woman, attempting to smuggle these rare reptiles into Hong Kong, was apprehended at Futian Port, located in Shenzhen, eastern China. Noticing the woman’s unusually bulky attire, officials conducted a search which revealed five mesh bags containing the lizards stashed in her undergarments.
Customs officers escorted the woman to a search area where she was asked to remove her clothes. The footage, released by China’s Customs Department, shows officials unpacking the lizards from the bags and placing them in large plastic containers to await inspection by wildlife experts.
The sailfin lizard, also known as the sailfin dragon (Hydrosaurus amboinensis), is a large reptile similar to an iguana. The creature gets its name from the sail-like structure on its tail. Indigenous to Indonesia and the Philippines, these reptiles primarily inhabit areas near water bodies.
Sailfins face significant threats from habitat loss and the exotic pet trade. The lizards are highly sought after by individuals with an interest in keeping unusual pets, leading to a surge in their illegal trafficking.
Ref; The Thaiger
