Hong Kong woman arrested after 30 endangered reptiles found in Sham Shui Po flat

A Hong Kong woman has been arrested after 30 endangered reptiles were found in a Sham Shui Po flat. Authorities discovered the collection after a crocodile was spotted on the balcony of the building on Wednesday.

A boa constrictor seized by authorities from a Sham Shui Po flat. Photo: GovHK.

Police and personnel from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) raided the 35-year-old’s apartment on Tai Po Road in the early hours of Thursday, according to a government press release published later that day.

Inside, they found 63 reptiles, amphibians and arthropods. Among them were 29 endangered reptiles listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

They included three rock iguanas; four Aldabra giant tortoises; a savannah monitor; a boa constrictor; and a Burmese python.

Four Aldabra giant tortoises seized by authorities from a Sham Shui Po flat. Photo: GovHK.

The woman told authorities that she owned the animals and that they were intended for educational purposes.

After she failed to produce any licence to possess the creatures, the AFCD arrested her on suspicion of illegally possessing endangered species.

The offence is punishable by a fine of up to HK$10 million and 10 years’ imprisonment.

An estuarine crocodile seized by authorities from a Sham Shui Po flat. Photo: GovHK.

The raid came after a crocodile was found on a platform connected to the residential unit on Wednesday. Inspectors from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) were called to the scene and managed to secure the juvenile crocodile, which appeared to have a leg injury.

The SPCA said crocodiles are dangerous animals and can pose a serious threat to people and other animals.

According to the government’s Thursday press release, the reptile was preliminarily identified as an estuarine crocodile, which is also listed in the CITES.

Including the crocodile, the woman was suspected of being in illegal possession of 30 endangered reptiles. All of them were seized for investigation.