Nearly extinct tokay gecko rescued; 2 arrested
The animal was recovered after authorities were tipped off, resulting in a raid of the smugglers' location
A Tokay Gecko, an endangered species that had been illegally possessed for smuggling, was recovered during a police raid in Savar.
This rescue operation also resulted in the apprehension of two individuals, Yusuf Ali (35) and Mamun Hossain (28), both residents of the Sharsha thana in Jashore.
The Business Standard confirmed the incident with Harunur Rashid, the sub-inspector of the Savar Model police station, and officer-in-charge of the Aminbazar police station. He stated that a police patrol conducted a raid in Aminbazar following a tip-off in the early morning.
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"During the operation, they apprehended two suspects and recovered the nearly extinct Tokay gecko", he further added.
The accused were also found to possess 109 pieces of Yaba, which were recovered at the same time.
Police sources informed TBS that the arrested individuals had acquired the gecko for 1lakh tk from local individuals in Khagrachhari, a hilly district of Chattogram.
"Their intention was to transfer the gecko to another party in Dhaka in exchange for 10 lakh tk with plans to smuggle it into India", told the police sources.
Harun said the rescued Tokay gecko will be handed over to the Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU) at the Forest Department and a case filing on this matter is in progress.
"We have recovered the gecko when it was reported by police this afternoon. It is a species of reptiles, measuring 7 inches in length and weighing 45 grams."
Hafizur confirmed to TBS that the reptile will be released back into its natural habitat.
