Criminal networks recruit international students to smuggle Australian reptiles
Criminal gangs recruited international students on social media to smuggle Australian reptiles. Police seized 343 in 2025.
Authorities seized a record number of animals last year. Criminal gangs target vulnerable people to move native species.
The National EPA warned international students are targeted on social media and offered money to transport reptiles without knowing what they're really doing. An international student was sentenced to 18 months in prison after attempting to send 15 lizards from Queensland to China.
In September, a 21-year-old was charged with trying to smuggle 163 native reptiles from Sydney to Hong Kong. Individual Australian reptiles sell for anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over $10,000 on black markets.
They often reach collectors in China, Europe, the US and Canada.
- 343
- Reptiles seized in 2025
- 18 months prison
- International student sentence
- $74,207
- Lizards sent to China value
- 163 reptiles to Hong Kong
- September smuggling attempt
Why it mattersYoung people face serious criminal charges when exploited to move animals and receive lengthy prison sentences. Often they don't know the legal consequences.
AustraliaAustralia's unique native reptiles are being drained from the wild to feed illegal overseas markets, threatening local biodiversity and ecosystems.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 3 h ago
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