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Summary Customs Department chief said that he suspected that the lizards were destined to be eaten.
Authorities in Thailand have seized 1,800 Bengal monitor lizards that were being smuggled to the capital city, on pickup trucks. Customs officials said that the lizards were hidden in bags and stashed in open containers behind boxes of fruit in three pickup trucks.Customs Department chief, Prasong Poontaneat, said that he suspected that the lizards were destined to be eaten because their meat sells for up to US$ 33 per kilogramme in China, making them worth more than US$ 60,000.In Thailand, illegal sale of wildlife carries a penalty of up to four years in prison and a fine of $1,300.
