Visitors arrested over gecko find

Three foreign visitors have been arrested and charged with taking or possessing protected jewelled geckos estimated to be worth $192,000 from the Otago Peninsula.

The 16 animals were found in a backpack when one of the three men was caught in Christchurch only hours after his arrival, by a Department of Conservation wildlife ranger.

That man, Manfred Walter Bachmann, a 55-year-old German resident in Kampala, Uganda, was remanded in custody for sentence on March 3 when he pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing the absolutely protected wildlife.

After his arrest, further inquiries led to the arrest of two other men who appeared in the Christchurch District Court today charged with hunting the geckos and possession of the animals.

Thomas Benjamin Price, 31, a stockbroker from Gallen, Switzerland, and Gustavo Eduardo Toledo-Albarran, a 28-year-old chef from Carranza, Mexico, were remanded in custody until tomorrow.

They agreed to the remand in custody because they have been unable to arrange a bail address, but counsel Simon Graham told Judge John Strettell it was hoped an address could be found so they could be released tomorrow.

They were remanded without plea.

The department is alleging the three were operating together.

Bachmann pleaded guilty at his first appearance which was only a day after he entered New Zealand.

He flew in to Christchurch Airport in the early hours of Sunday. Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie said that acting on information received, Bachmann was spoken to by the ranger in downtown Christchurch at 7pm that day.

When confronted, Bachmann admitted he had the reptiles in his backpack, which was then seized.

The bag contained two groups of seven short lengths of alkathene tube, taped together and sealed at each end with insulation tape.

Thirteen of the tubes had adult jewelled geckos, and one contained three immature animals.

At least nine of the 11 females were pregnant and were likely to give birth to one or two young in the next few weeks.

All the animals were found only on the Otago Peninsula and are also known as Otago Peninsula jewelled geckos.

Bachmann admitted he knew the animals were to be exported from New Zealand, but he was to pass them on to another person to export. He would not disclose the name, but he did give the name of the person who had given him the packages. He said he expected to be paid later.

Mr Bodie said geckos were the subject of an international illegal trade, particularly in Europe. The conservative street value of New Zealand green geckos traded by Bachmann was about $12,000 per animal, or about $192,000 for the 16.

- NZPA