Guest guest Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Lizards saved from the pot - New Straits Times 22 Oct 2006 M. Hamzah Jamaludin -- KUANTAN: More than 5,000 monitor lizards were saved from the cooking pot when the Marine Police foiled an attempt to export the reptiles to Hong Kong and Thailand on Thursday night. The success was made possible after 50 marine police personnel raided the Tokong Batu Tiga jetty in Jalan Gambang after they received a tip-off. About 30 workers were busy transferring boxes of the reptiles from two trailers onto a waiting boat when the marine police arrived. Most of them managed to escape except five, aged between 20 and 49. One of them is a Chinese national. Eastern Region Marine Police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Salleh Mat Gani said 448 wooden boxes containing live monitor lizards were found at the scene. " Some of the boxes had already been loaded onto the boat when we arrived, " he said at a Press conference here on Friday. Present was State Marine Police chief Assistant Superintendent Mohamed Pajeri Ali. Salleh said the monitor lizards were believed to be sold as exotic food in Thailand and Hong Kong. State Perhilitian director Zainuddin Abdul Shukor said it was the biggest success in the state based on the number of lizards confiscated. He said the reptiles would be released into the wild, including the National Park and several lakes in the state. " Each lizard fetches at least US$40 (RM148) overseas, " he said. Zainuddin said those caught would be charged soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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