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Crime / Endangered species
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2009-02-23 02:54:06-05
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Man tried to smuggle reptiles on a plane
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A man has been charged with trying to smuggle 44 indigenous, lizards and snakes on a flight out of Australia, including a rare albino python snake.
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A man has been charged with trying to smuggle 44 indigenous, lizards and snakes on a flight out of Australia, including a rare albino python snake. The haul of reptiles allegedly discovered in the suitcases of a 24-year-old at Sydney airport on Friday included 24 shingleback lizards, 16 bluetongue lizards and four snakes. The snakes have been identified as three black headed pythons and an albino carpet python, an extremely endangered species with numbers approximately to be as limited as 100. The albino python is worth about USD 20,000, while Australian customs estimates all the reptiles in the smuggling attempt would fetch between USD 160,000 and USD 200,000 on the black market. They were detected during x-ray screenings of the man's suitcases after he checked-in for a flight to Thailand. The lizards and snakes hidden in socks and cloth bags, were taken to Sydney Wildlife World, where they have undergone health examination and are being cared for. The man, from Bonnet Bay, has been granted conditional bail to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on March 24. He has been charged with attempting to export native species without a permit, which carries a maximum penalty of USD 110,000 and/or 10 years imprisonment. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Mr Richard Janeczko said wildlife smuggling was a serious crime. "Customs and Border Protection continues to prevent, investigate and prosecute wildlife smuggling attempts into and out of Australia in an effort to terminate this cruel practice," Mr Janeczko said.
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