A Japanese man has been arrested for trying to illegally bring dozens of lizards out of Indonesia, a government official said on Tuesday.

The 77-year-old man attempted to smuggle a total of 52 lizards, which he put in his luggage, to Japan at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Indonesia’s capital, senior manager of aviation security of the airport Tommy Hadi Bawono said.

“The man was busted for trying to bring reptiles alive. His act was found out during an X-ray scanning on his belonging in the security check point at terminal 3,’’ Bawono said.

All the lizards, including various species – gecko lizard, panana lizard and thorn lizard, were seized by authorities at the airport and handed to the animal quarantine officials.

The Japanese man planned to bring the lizards to Japan in a flight of Garuda Indonesia to Tokyo, Bawono said.

According to his testimony, the Japanese smuggler purchased the reptiles at a bird market in Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java.

“He planned to sell the lizards in Japan. We are still probing the matter,’’ Bawono said. (Xinhua/NAN)

– Sept. 18, 2018 @ 14:05 GMT |