A Chinese national has been jailed after attempting to post 43 reptiles from Australia to Hong Kong in seven separate parcels - the animals were bound in their own filth without access to water or food.
Bichuan Zhang was found guilty of five counts of attempting to export 43 Australian lizards, including blue-tongue skinks, shingleback skinks and eastern water dragons, from post offices in Sydney and Wollongong between December 2023 and January 2024.
The reptiles were found concealed in plastic containers, tied inside socks and surrounded by plastic children's toys. Some were inserted into rubber toy animals.
Zhang was sentenced to two years and four months behind bars, with a non-parole period of one year and two months, in Sydney on Friday.
The 33-year-old was arrested as part of Operation Maxima, an international investigation led by the Environmental Crime Team in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water who worked with authorities in Hong Kong.
Exporting Australian wildlife is a serious offence under Australia's national environment law.
Each offence has a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and fines of up to $313,000 or both.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the sentence would act as a deterrent to potential poachers from getting involved in wildlife crime.
"Our unique animals are highly valued overseas. They are vulnerable to wildlife trafficking and deserve the strongest protection from wildlife traffickers and this cruel trade," she said.
"The Albanese Labor Government is determined to make sure that this is the case. And that is why we have dedicated specialist investigators who work domestically and internationally to eradicate these transnational organised crime groups.
"People who trade in animals in this way are cruel and selfish, and I'll do whatever I can to make sure they cop the full force of the law."
Ms Plibersek said trafficking of endangered species was such a threat for many Australian species that a single poaching event could drive the critically endangered Cape Melville leaf-tailed gecko to extinction in the wild.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry have previously said that taking animals from the wild poses risks to the species' conservation, local populations, habitats and ecosystems.
While wildlife trafficking poses a significant biosecurity risk to Australia as it could introduce pests and diseases that could impact on the environment, as well as human and animal health.
When smuggled wildlife are detected at Australia's borders using Rapiscan Systems scanners, where possible the animals are rehomed.
In the last four months of 2023, 117 packages containing 441 specimens were seized across Australia by authorities.
Wildlife crime is a global problem increasingly recognised as a specialised area of organised crime requiring coordinated domestic and international enforcement.
The DCCEEW Compliance and Enforcement Branch specialises in disrupting and exposing organised crime syndicates responsible for coordinating the exports and imports of live animals.
Trafficking detection takes a multi-agency approach with the Australian Federal Police, Australia Post, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, Australian Border Force and state police also involved in operations.
Meanwhile, the North Queensland Register reported earlier this year that a team of researchers had re-discovered the Lyon's grassland striped skink on a station near Mount Surprise, 42 years after it was last seen.
