Arabic version: تغريم رجل من نيو ساوث ويلز 31 ألف دولار بسبب محاولة إرسال سحالي بالبريد
According to ABC News, New South Wales man Nicholas Thomas Havet, 28, has been fined $31,000 after attempting to smuggle 65 reptiles from Western Australia by mail. Northam Magistrates Court heard Havet travelled to WA twice in 2023, captured wild reptiles and tried to send them to NSW.
Australia Post intercepted two parcels at Perth Airport containing bobtail lizards, ornate crevice dragons, thorny devils, western blue tongue lizards, geckos and variegated dtella. Four reptiles were already dead, while 51 more were euthanised because of their poor condition. The remaining 10 animals were rehomed.
Havet was found guilty in absentia of six charges of exporting fauna without lawful authority. He did not attend either his sentencing or a July hearing at which he was convicted. Each charge carried a maximum penalty of $50,000.
Prosecutors said Havet made two trips to WA between March and April 2023. He rented a vehicle in Perth and travelled to the state’s north west. CCTV showed him buying two parcels at a post office in Narembeen before lodging them, containing the lizards, in Merredin.
The court heard Havet was apprehended at the Port Hedland Post Office after four days in WA. A search of his vehicle found plastic containers with holes drilled in them, an endoscope camera and two mobile phones. Prosecutors said five earlier parcels suspected of containing lizards had been successfully delivered, and estimated the animals’ black-market value at between $65,000 and $1.3 million. Magistrate Sarah Wisbey said Havet had subjected the reptiles to “cruel and inhumane treatment” while operating for profit.
