NEWS.COM.AU (Australia) 25 January 06 Smuggler 'swapped $20K reptiles for pup' (Johanna Leggatt)
(AAP) A Japanese man has smuggled 39 exotic reptiles worth around $20,000 into Australia because he was promised a champion cattle dog in return, a court heard today.
Katsuhide Naito, 40, pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court today to one count of importing a species without a permit and one count of importing regulated live specimens without a permit.
Naito was arrested at Brisbane Airport on August 22 last year, following a flight from Bangkok, after customs officers found a host of exotic reptiles in his bag including tree monitors, pythons, iguanas, frill-necked lizards and tortoises.
Today, District Court Judge Nick Samios sentenced Naito to three-and-a-half years' jail, to be suspended after 14 months.
Judge Samios declared 157 days of pre-sentence custody as time already served.
Commonwealth prosecutor Madonna Hayes told the court 27 of the reptiles were endangered species and six snakes were crammed in plastic containers and shampoo bottles.
Three of the reptiles didn't survive the trip.
Ms Hayes said Naito had agreed to transport the reptiles from Thailand, where he was living at time, to Australia in return for a champion Australian cattle dog – which is prized overseas.
"He told police he had been instructed by a man in Thailand to meet a man outside customs who would have his name on a card," Ms Hayes said.
"He was to hand over the reptiles and he would then get his cattle dog as payment."
The illegal reptiles were worth an estimated $20,000 on the Australian blackmarket.
The court was also told Naito knew what he was doing was illegal but claimed he was only aware of the snakes in his bag and hadn't packed the remaining reptiles.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Samios told Naito through an interpreter his crime was a "brazen" one.
"This is a serious offence and there was a serious risk of you bringing disease into the country," he said.
The reptiles were put down and stuffed to prevent any outbreaks of disease and are now used as research and educational tools at the Queensland Museum.
Smuggler 'swapped $20K reptiles for pup'