Sydney man jailed for mailing reptiles in popcorn bags / Photo: FRANCOIS GUILLOT - AFP/File
-
Starmer boosts budget to modernise UK military before exit
-
UN calls for food, shelter to help Venezuela quake survivors
-
Stocks mostly higher, yen stays near 40-year low against dollar
-
Merz faces mockery over praise of Germany's World Cup team
-
Data centres emitting more CO2 than thought: study
-
Ride-share group BlaBlaCar taps AI for 20-country expansion
-
Over 1 million migrants apply for Spain's mass regularisation
-
Escaping heat, forgetting war: Kyiv locals hit the beach
-
Germany questions footballing identity after fresh World Cup failure
-
Thousands march to demand illegal migrants leave South Africa
-
MEXC Lists Ondo's Tokenized Strategy Preferred Stock on Spot Market
-
Serena set for remarkable Wimbledon return
-
Stocks climb, yen stays near 40-year low against dollar
-
Outgoing UK PM Starmer announces 'record' defence spending
-
Swim star Marchand limps out of French nationals as Europeans loom
-
Paralluelo joins Barca women's departures
-
UN says transport infrastructure must adapt to climate
-
Police hunt for Monaco bomb suspect after Ukrainian-born businessman wounded
-
Sommer, Acerbi, Darmian, De Vrij leave Inter Milan
-
Sommer, Acerbi, Darmian leave Inter Milan
-
Germany's labour market dilemma: rising unemployment despite vacancies
-
'Waiting like torture': Turks despair as Schengen visa delays mount
-
Skating allows Russian, Belarussians to return as neutrals
-
Venezuela rescuers in final push to find survivors as families mourn
-
Russian double Olympic figure skating champion Dmitriev dies aged 58
-
Over 1 million migrants apply for Spain's mass regularisation: PM
-
S. Africa deploys police as anti-migrant protests loom
-
Thousands from Philippine sect protest pro-Duterte senator's graft case
-
Monaco parcel bomb blast wounds Ukrainian oligarch
-
South Africa repatriations top 25,000 ahead of anti-immigrant ultimatum
-
Sweden face France's attacking firepower at the World Cup
-
Taiwan raids tech firms in China AI chip smuggling probe
-
Online same-sex romance series embrace AI 'freedom'
-
Morocco 'unstoppable' says coach after Netherlands thriller
-
New Oxford academic centre symbolises UK's big-donor era
-
Russia's small businesses pay the price of spiralling Ukraine war
-
Trump says Iran meeting set in Qatar, despite uncertainty
-
Paraguay shock Germany as Brazil, Morocco advance at World Cup
-
Morocco down Netherlands to reach World Cup last 16
-
NASA robot mission aiming to rescue space telescope
-
Asian stocks unable to track Wall St higher, yen holds at 40-year low
-
Mouse-that-roared Paraguay savors World Cup win over Germany
-
'We came from nothing': DR Congo dreams of England World Cup upset
-
Taiwan's ageing seaweed harvesters hope younger women wade in
-
Peruvian political heir Fujimori wins presidency
-
Key Venezuela port opens with US aid, as burials begin
-
What to expect as EU small parcel levy kicks in
-
Ambitious Japan search for answers after World Cup exit
-
Nagelsmann says won't 'run away' after Germany World Cup exit
-
How NATO will try to keep Trump happy at Ankara summit
NYSE - LSE
Sydney man jailed for mailing reptiles in popcorn bags
A Sydney man who tried to post native lizards, dragons and other reptiles out of Australia in bags of popcorn and biscuit tins has been sentenced to eight years in jail, authorities said Tuesday.
The eight-year term handed down on Friday was a record for wildlife smuggling, federal environment officials said.
A district court in Sydney gave the man, 61-year-old Neil Simpson, a non-parole period of five years and four months.
Investigators recovered 101 Australian reptiles from seized parcels destined for Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Romania, the officials said in a statement.
The animals -- including shingleback lizards, western blue-tongue lizards, bearded dragons and southern pygmy spiny-tailed skinks -- were posted in 15 packages between 2018 and 2023.
"Lizards, skinks and dragons were secured in calico bags. These bags were concealed in bags of popcorn, biscuit tins and a women's handbag and placed inside cardboard boxes," the statement said.
The smuggler had attempted to get others to post the animals on his behalf but was identified by government investigators and the New South Wales police, it added.
Three other people were convicted for taking part in the crime.
The New South Wales government's environment department said that "the illegal wildlife trade is not a victimless crime", harming conservation and stripping the state "and Australia of its unique biodiversity".
M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST
