Lizard thieves sent to prison
Two men sentenced to four and six years
CAPENature has welcomed the prison sentences handed down to two men convicted of the illegal collection and possession of six armadillo girdled lizards (ouroboros).
Shintaro Okada and Yusuke Imanishi were convicted in the Cape Town Regional Court after entering into plea and sentence agreements and were respectively sentenced to four and six years behind bars.
They have also been declared undesirable persons in terms of immigration legislation and will be deported after serving their sentences.
“We welcome this sentence and congratulate all the parties involved for their work in protecting the biodiversity of the Western Cape. This sentence was only achieved as a result of a combined effort between departments.
“The apprehension of the two Japanese citizens was the result of the combined efforts of CapeNature staff from the Knersvlakte Nature Reserve, the Malmesbury Stock Theft Unit and the Endangered Species Unit.
“The office of the Western Cape Directorate of Public Prosecutions is also thanked for their sterling assistance in the prosecution,’’ CapeNature
chief executive Razeena Omar said.
Imanishi has previous convictions for reptile smuggling in both Indonesia and Australia.
In May last year he was arrested at Soekarno Hatta Airport in Indonesia for being in possession of 46 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites)-listed pythons and nine Cites-listed monitor lizards.
In June last year he was arrested at Australia’s Perth Airport with 13 illegally collected bobtail lizards in his luggage. He arrived in South Africa in August this year and was arrested in September with the six armadillo girdled lizards.
CapeNature said this was the fourth case involving armadillo girdled lizards in the Western Cape over the past 18 months.
“Mr Okada and Mr Imanishi were also declared undesirable persons by the court in terms of immigration legislation and will subsequently be deported after serving their imprisonment sentences respectively.
“This represents a prime example of the successes one can achieve when law enforcement agencies work together.
“CapeNature commends the hard work displayed by its staff and all involved,” CapeNature said.