Vice-president of K2 Security Screening Group Keith Jeffries said profit motives often drive unusual smuggling schemes.
“If there’s a market for it, people will attempt to smuggle it,” Jeffries told Fox News.
“We’ve seen this before many times. It happens more frequently than any of us would like.”
New Zealand is not immune to smugglers taking our lizards, with the native jewelled gecko fetching thousands overseas. Photo / Department of Conservation
Jeffries said airport screening procedures vary depending on the agency involved and the threats officials are tasked with detecting.
He said airport screening systems were often designed primarily to identify security threats.
“They look for guns, knives, explosives, incendiary devices – and it’s very specific and narrow to that,” he told Fox News. Meaning wildlife trafficking can require specialised customs and border inspections.
The Tokyo case echoes a recent prosecution in New Zealand where a man was jailed for attempting to smuggle reptiles inside socks.
In December 2025, a South Korean national was jailed for one year and two months after an undercover Department of Conservation sting uncovered a plot to illegally export rare jewelled geckos.
Authorities said the 23-year-old planned to hide the protected reptiles inside socks in his suitcase before flying overseas.
Jewelled geckos are native to the South Island and are believed to live for up to 35 years in the wild, according to the New Zealand Herpetological Society.
Department of Conservation officers uncovered US$15,000 in cash that was intended to be used to purchase 10 black market native New Zealand geckos. Photo / Department of Conservation
The operation revealed the high value of New Zealand’s native reptiles on the black market, with jewelled geckos reportedly selling for more than $14,000 each in Europe.
DoC has described wildlife trafficking as a growing international problem that rivals other major forms of organised illegal trade.
It has previously warned that international demand for rare species continues to drive wildlife trafficking, with protected reptiles among the most valuable animals on the illegal market.