A man caught in an undercover sting targeting the illegal trade of rare geckos has been jailed for 14 months.
Gunak Lee, 23, from South Korea, travelled to New Zealand in an attempt to purchase 10 prized jewelled geckos worth around £60,650, ready to be smuggled out of the country.
They are only found in New Zealand and classified as an ‘at risk – declining’ species, making this rare reptile highly sought after in illegal international trade, according to the Department of Conservation (DOC).
The creatures can fetch up to €7,000 (£6,115) each in Europe because of their rarity and distinctive features.
Lee was caught trying to smuggle the endangered species by an undercover DOC officer at a hotel in Auckland.
He believed he was purchasing 10 geckos for just a few thousand dollars, but was only given two of the reptiles by the undercover officer.
He wanted to confirm the number of geckos once he returned to his hotel room, but was arrested before he could get back, and the two reptiles were safely recovered.
Lee had planned to fly back to South Korea after receiving the reptiles, and believed he would only be fined if he was stopped at the border.
Instead, Lee was sentenced for buying the protected jewelled geckos and possession of a threatened species at Manukau District Court on Friday, local outlet RNZ reported.
Prosecutor Mike Bodie said the transaction formed part of a planned smuggling operation.
‘This wasn’t spare of a moment; it was clearly a plan and premeditated,’ he said.
Lee’s lawyer, Joon Yi, argued Lee was exploited and naive, calling for him to serve only six months.
‘He’s so naive that even his own hotel, that he stayed in, he paid for out of his own pocket without any assurance he would be paid back or anything like that,’ he said.
However, prosecutors said Lee should be handed two years, citing that the maximum penalty for buying protected wildlife is two years in jail, or a NZ$100,000 fine, or both.
Judge David McNaughton recognised Lee was not the principal offender and suggested he was part of a wider operation.
Mr McNaughton told Lee: ‘Whoever that person was, he arranged all of this at a distance.
‘He was insulating himself from any risk of getting caught, and clearly he was also doing this for commercial gain or reward, so it was a commercial operation.’
The judge handed Lee a 14-month prison term, adding that he would likely be deported after serving his sentence.
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