The lucrative illegal trade smuggling Australia's reptiles overseas - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Authorities found these shingleback lizards as well as cash, silver and gold bullion during a raid in Sydney in August.  (Supplied: National EPA)

Australian reptiles are a lucrative trade on the black market for exotic animals, and authorities warn international students are increasingly being targeted to smuggle them out of the country.

Dani Yannopoulos from the National EPA said serious organised criminal networks are using global networks to move drugs, firearms and exotic animals.

"There's a demand for our unique wildlife," Ms Yannopoulos said.

She said the agency has seen a trend of international students being targeted to move the animals.

It follows a record number of specimens intercepted by authorities last year, including the second-highest number of reptiles seized in the past six years.

In September, a 21-year-old man was charged with attempting to smuggle native reptiles from Sydney to Hong Kong. (Supplied: National EPA)

Ms Yannopoulos says young people were being targeted on social media and offered money to move wildlife, often without knowing the full extent of the operation.

"Sometimes they might know what's in the package, sometimes they don't; it might just be transporting from one state to another to get to an exit point."

An international student was sentenced to 18 months in prison last year for attempting to send native Australian reptiles to China. She had attempted to export 15 lizards from Queensland to China, with an estimated "street value" of $74, 207.

Under Australian law, it's illegal to export live native Australian mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians for commercial purposes, and disrupting the illegal trade is part of the remit of the newly established National EPA.

Several young people have been allegedly involved in wildlife smuggling attempts recently.

In September, a 21-year-old man was charged with allegedly attempting to smuggle 163 native reptiles from Sydney to Hong Kong as air cargo.

In a separate case in July, a man in his 20s was fined more than $30,000 for attempting to post 65 reptiles from Western Australia to New South Wales.

The parcels were intercepted, with four lizards found dead, while another 51 had to be euthanised.

And last year, a 27-year-old man was sentenced to almost three years in prison for attempting to mail 27 reptiles to Hong Kong, including nine blue-tongue lizards.

Dani Yannopoulos says international students are increasingly getting caught up in the trade. (Supplied: National EPA)

Ms Yannopoulos said criminal networks recruited people at the lower levels of their operations to distance themselves.

"So anyone that they can use, any vulnerable person in particular, that they pay a little bit of money because they're going to be the first points of contact."

Blue-tongue lizards were among the most commonly seized reptile species in 2025. (ABC Wimmera: Andrew Kelso)

Sebastian Chekunov, a researcher with Adelaide University's Wildlife Crime Research Hub, said individual Australian reptiles could fetch "anywhere from a few hundred [dollars] to over $10,000".

"When they're being smuggled out, they're mostly going to Hong Kong as a first step," Dr Chekunov said.

Sebastian Chekunov says native animals can end up in exotic pet markets overseas. (Supplied: Sebastian Chekunov)

He said once native species made it overseas, they could often reach exotic pet markets in China, Europe, the US and Canada.

"Overseas, the consumers in the end markets, oftentimes they don't know that these animals have been smuggled out.

"You can just go into a pet shop and buy one.

"But then for the rarer species, we see people who own them are more like collectors.

Dr Chekunov said the transport could be harmful to the animals' wellbeing.

"They're often wrapped up tightly inside packages, not able to move, not given food and water for however long they're wrapped up."

A joint investigation recovered 28 native reptiles, including shingleback lizards, spiny-tailed skinks and lace monitors in August.  (Supplied: National EPA)

Figures provided to triple j hack by the National EPA show 1,048 wildlife specimens were intercepted in 2025, including 343 reptiles.

The animals intercepted included snakes, lizards, dragons, skinks, monitors and turtles.

Shingleback and blue-tongue lizards were in the highest numbers, accounting for 208 combined.

Authorities also intercepted 37 pythons and 15 lace monitors.

The number of specimens fluctuates significantly from year to year, with 211 intercepted in 2024 and 595 in 2023.

An increase in seizures containing invertebrates, such as ants or beetles, can significantly impact the count.

Australia also has a large community of legal reptile breeders and hobbyists, who say the illegal trade risks damaging the reputation of the industry.

Jayden, a reptile hobbyist who did not want his surname published, said most people in the reptile community strongly opposed smuggling.

Reptile hobbyists in Australia worry the illegal trade gives them a bad rap.  (Supplied: Sebastian Chekunov)

"It's pretty frowned upon by the majority of the industry and hobbyists for reptiles. They're adamantly against smuggling," he said.

Jayden, who keeps two snakes, said illegal operators tended to work in secretive networks, making them difficult for the wider reptile community to identify.

"Those small circles of smugglers and such, they really keep to themselves and they essentially operate in the shadows," he said.

Authorities say licensed reptile breeders and hobbyists can play an important role in identifying suspicious activity and helping disrupt the illegal trade.