Man tried to post 99 lizards from Australia to Hong Kong hidden in parcels

Repeated attempts to send over $360,000-worth of native lizards from Australia to Hong Kong using the postal service has seen a man handed a jail sentence.

Man Lung Ma tried to export 99 live Australian native reptiles from cities across the country, including Canberra.

The then-37-year-old did this by going to 24 post offices and depositing 29 packages containing the lizards, which were to be posted to various addresses in Hong Kong.

For instance, he went to post offices in Mitchell and Gungahlin in the ACT in August 2023 and deposited one consignment containing two shingleback lizards, then also a second consignment with a third shingleback lizard.

Aside from shinglebacks, the other species he tried to post were blue-tongues, monitors, geckos and skinks.

NSW District Court Judge Paul McGuire SC said all of the packages were detected at mail facilities before leaving Australia and found to contain the reptiles in socks or stockings, which were then placed inside plastic containers and among toys, snacks or clothing.

Police raided Ma’s hotel in Hurstville, Sydney, in September 2023 and also found 16 native animals hidden inside plastic containers.

Ma said that while working as an Uber driver in Hong Kong, he met a Chinese businessman called “Mr Lau” who offered him an opportunity to make money by travelling to Australia and sending reptiles to Hong Kong.

He said Mr Lau gave him the money to buy the reptiles, then he was paid $300 for each reptile he posted. He also admitted going to different post offices in an attempt to avoid detection.

Police found he used a wildlife permit in another person’s name to buy reptiles in NSW.

Professor Phillip Cassey, an expert in the live export of Australian reptiles, told the court that the reptiles Ma tried to export were valuable in overseas markets.

He said the 99 animals would have been worth a total of $364,417, and the three shinglebacks posted from Canberra alone would have been worth over $20,000.

Judge McGuire said it was unclear if Ma had been paid for sending the reptiles. However, he noted that at $300 per specimen, the most he would have received was “the relatively modest sum of $29,700”.

Taronga Wildlife Hospital veterinarian Kimberly Herrin said the way the 99 reptiles had been hidden – restricted in socks or stockings secured by knots or adhesive tape and packaged within other items – likely caused discomfort, injury or suffering to all of them.

She noted none of them had access to food or water.

“Ms Herrin also expressed the opinion, based on physical examination of the specimens, that many of them were in poor condition, that some had signs of emaciation and that a number of them had to be euthanised due to disease, infection or injury,” Judge McGuire said.

“That evidence establishes that the offender was indifferent to the risk of harm caused to the animals as a result of the method of concealment and the inevitable length of confinement during transit to Hong Kong.”

The judge also said the trade in live animals was rightly described as “horrific”.

Ma, who was born in Hong Kong and is a citizen of the region, has been in custody since he was arrested in September 2023.

Judge McGuire said Ma worked for Sony Music for six years before being promoted to mechanical engineer. He went on to start his own business as a renovator, then provided travel services to people returning from Hong Kong to China and also worked as an Uber driver.

The married father-of-one pleaded guilty to 19 counts of attempted export of regulated native specimens.

Late last year, the 39-year-old was convicted and sentenced to a total of three-and-a-half years’ jail with a two-year non-parole period.

As this was backdated to account for time served, he can be released from custody in September 2025.