Police have arrested a suspected smuggler and seized 180 protected lizards bound for dining tables on the mainland in an operation on Lantau.
The consignment, which could have been sold for HK$690,000, was found in 60 boxes at To Kau Wan, off Lantau Link, on Wednesday night, police said.
Senior Inspector Wong Wai-hon of the marine police said the lizards were water monitors. 'They are about one metre long each. They include live and dead ones,' he said.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the live ones were put down because they were in poor health.
Officers said investigations showed the lizards were destined for Huidong in Guangdong. 'There is a demand for the lizards because mainland people believe eating wild animals is good for their health,' one said.
Marine police began investigating the cross-border smuggling of wild animals after a tip-off about two weeks ago. Officers were waiting on a To Kau Wan hillside when two speedboats arrived and berthed at the waterfront at 10.30pm on Wednesday, before two trucks pulled up.
A group of 10 men began loading the boxes from the vehicles on to the speedboats. As police approached, the men jumped back on to the speedboats. One of the two truck drivers was arrested as he tried to follow them.