Anti-smuggling bureaus of China's General Administration of Customs seized 20.3 tons of wildlife products during an anti-wildlife smuggling operation on Thursday across several cities, including Guangzhou City in Guangdong Province and Chengdu City in Sichuan Province. 

Among the seized products were dried Tokay geckos, which were being sold in medicinal markets. The demand for Tokay geckos comes from their alleged medicinal benefits, despite there being no proof of their efficacy. 

Tokay geckos are nocturnal lizards mainly distributed in southeastern and southern Asia. They are under second-class national protection in China and on the CITES list. The animals are captured, gutted, dried on sticks in kilns, and smuggled into China by illegal means/

The Tokay gecko is quickly becoming a threatened species due to indiscriminate hunting. 

Customs offices across the country continue to crack down on the smuggling of wildlife products and have vowed to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

(Cover image via VCG)

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