Lizard lingerie: Chinese customs uncover 16 live sailfin lizards hidden in woman’s underwear
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.
These reptiles vary in size. The largest males can grow up to three and a half feet long, while the females are smaller. The gender of the seized lizards has not been determined yet, reported KhaoSod.
The illegal exotic pet trade is surging in Thailand, as evidenced by a recent incident at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Just a few months ago, authorities at the airport apprehended a tourist who was trying to smuggle 25 live exotic birds on a flight to the Maldives. These birds had an estimated total value of 100,000 baht. Read more HERE.
Two years ago, Thai authorities apprehended a Ukrainian woman who was found to have 116 tortoises hidden in her luggage. These tortoises had a combined estimated worth of 900,000 baht. Read more HERE.
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