Man Arrested With 44 Lizards In Underwear Sentenced To Prison
January 29th, 2010 - 12:25 am ICT by GDBy Madhuri Dey
Wellington, Jan 28, (THAINDIAN NEWS) A man who had been arrested for exporting 44 lizards have been sentenced to 14 weeks of imprisonment, and has also been asked to pay a fine of $3,540. The ruling was passed on Tuesday by the judge at Christchurch District Court. According to the ruling by the Judge Colin Doherty, Hans Kurt Kubus would be deported to Germany, his home state, immediately on completion of the prison term. As per the reports provided by Mike Bodey, the prosecutor for the Department of Conservation, Hans Kurt Kubus could have received a sentence of up to six months and an additional fine of $500,000.
Hans Kurt Kubus, a resident of Germany, and 58 years old, had been arrested in December last year in South Island, at the Christchurch International Airport, by the wildlife officials. He had been carrying 44 lizards of exotic species, inside his underwear, carrying them in a hand sewn package. Out of the 44, 15 were female and adult geckos, and 14 were female adult skinks. Out of them, 14 of the geckos and 12 of the skinks were pregnant. Hans Kurt Kubus had been arrested on the charges of illegally exporting a protected species of New Zealand out of the country.
The authorities commented that the case is the most serious of its kind that the country has seen in the last decade. It had been evaluated that the geckos could have fetched an amount of $2,800 each. The charges that had been slapped on him included hunting wildlife without permission and illegal exporting of exotic species. He pleaded guilty all counts, five of the charges falling under the Trade in Endangered Species Act and two under the Wildlife Act.
- German Man tried to smuggle 44 lizards in his under-pants - Jan 29, 2010
- 24 newly discovered lizard species face extinction - Apr 30, 2012
- World's Too Hot For Lizards To Handle - May 14, 2010
- Climate a major factor in lizard's sex - Oct 31, 2010
- Burrowing skink is reptilian world's master builder - May 16, 2011
- Scientists Discover New Lizard Species In Vietnam During A Buffet - Nov 12, 2010
- Daring animals hitchhike to colonise new lands - Oct 24, 2011
- Gecko's feet inspire unique wall hugging device - Feb 17, 2012
- Egg-laying lizards on verge giving live births - Sep 05, 2010
- Two held for smuggling rare animals - Sep 07, 2011
- US indicts two for trafficking jaguar pelts - Aug 31, 2011
- Woman gets five-year jail for trading in tiger parts - Apr 07, 2011
- New self-cloning lizard found in Vietnamese cuisine - Nov 11, 2010
- World's lizards disappearing due to rise in global temperatures - May 14, 2010
- German Resident Confesses His Mailing Of Hundreds Of Tarantulas, With Some Being Endangered Ones - Jan 20, 2011
Tags: bodey, christchurch international airport, colin doherty, department of conservation, dey, endangered species act, female adult, geckos, imprisonment, jan 28, kubus, last decade, lizards, madhuri, prison term, prosecutor, skinks, wellington, wildlife act, wildlife officials