250 live geckos from Hong Kong seized by Customs at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized yesterday 250 live geckos shipped from Hong Kong.

The shipment of geckos arrived at the Pair Cargo warehouse near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) on Sept. 27 and was consigned to Jose Pierino Nicolas of PC Exotic Pets in Caloocan City, BOC-NAIA district collector Mimel Talusan said. 

The shipment, worth P5,400 to P24,000, was declared as “lizards” but was not covered by sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances from the Bureau of Animal Industry, she said. 

Talusan said importing lizards without the necessary permits poses a hazard to the biodiversity of Philippine wildlife.