Gongbei Customs said in a statement yesterday that its officers at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint have seized three geckos from a vehicle driver entering Zhuhai.
According to the statement, two of the three lizards are crested geckos, while the other is a mniarogekko.
The two species of lizards originate from the French colony of New Caledonia in the South Pacific.
At about 4 p.m. on Sunday, the statement added, the customs officers saw that the driver’s trouser pockets were bulging “abnormally”, so they immediately checked his pockets where they found three transparent plastic boxes containing a lizard in each.
The statement did not say whether the vehicle intercepted was from Macau or Hong Kong.
The statement underlined that without the examination and approval by the mainland authorities, all living animals other than dogs and cats are forbidden to be taken or sent by post to the mainland.
This undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs yesterday shows the three geckos seized from a vehicle driver entering Zhuhai via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint on Sunday.
