Two tokay geckos rescued in Siliguri, smugglers arrested... North Bengal a hub of illegal trade in tokay

PRASHANT ACHARYA, EOI & PTI, SILIGURI / JALPAIGURI, 30 Oct 2014: North Bengal is steadily becoming the hub of illegal trade of tokay gecko (a lizard species) and their buyers are looking for the species in big numbers. Jalpaiguri forest officials arrested four smugglers from Jalpaiguri area last night and rescued two tokay geckos. An electronic weighing scale was seized. 

According to the forest officials the geckos were about to be smuggled to the north east. Police on the tip-off have raided the houses in Jalpaiguri and have arrested four smugglers. The arrested persons were Deepak and Ratan of Mainaguri and Munna and Sukalayan resident of Jalpaiguri. 

The rescued lizards were released in the forest, Baikunthapur forest division ranger Sanjay Dutta said. 

Acting on a tip off, the Bainkupara Forest Department had set a trap posing as potential buyer of the two geckos. The deal was fixed at a Rs. 3 lakh per gecko and the transaction was scheduled to be done on Wednesday evening at Goshala More area. Bainkupara Forest Department’s Bolakoba forest division ranger Sanjay Dutta said the four accused were produced before the Jalpaiguri District Court on Thursday and were subsequently sent to five days custody. 

“We will continue the investigation to find the other people involved in the racket,” he added. They are trying to spot the ringleaders of the racket in smuggling the rare reptile species. The tokay gecko is a nocturnal Asian lizard growing up to 40cm in length and easily identified by its orange-spotted, blue grey eyes and unmistakable vocals. 

According to sources, buyers are looking for bigger tokays measuring not less than 35.5cm (14 inches) in length and weighing about 200 gram. Such large specimens are said to fetch a high price in the international market.