Australia’s new eco police flexes muscles with major wildlife trafficking bust

Australia's newly launched National Environmental Protection Agency disrupted an alleged wildlife trafficking operation on July 16, seizing 28 native and exotic species, including shingleback lizards and lace monitors, alongside roughly A$300,000 in cash, gold and silver. It's the agency's first major investigation since starting July 1.

Officials allege native reptiles were being supplied to foreign buyers for illegal export; smuggled Australian lizards that sell for A$100 to A$400 domestically can fetch up to A$20,000 abroad. Between June 2025 and May 2026, authorities say they intercepted 113 illegal exports involving 1,250 native animals.

An environment minister quoted in a press release called the black market trade worth about $30 billion a year regionally and said Australian wildlife is especially lucrative to organized crime, though the release stops short of explaining how a month-old agency plans to outpace a trade of that scale.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.