By Tun Tun
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Sittwe: Over ten million kyat worth of tokay geckos, which were likely bound for export to China and Malaysia, were seized by Burmese police at a businessman's house in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, on 11 June, said a close neighbor and police source.
"40 living tokays worth over ten million kyat were seized from the house of U Maung Taw Gawbi in Sittwe on the evening of 11 June. The weight of each Tokay is reportedly over 300 grams. The total value of the seized tokay geckos is over ten million kyat," said the close neighbor of Maung Taw Gawbi.
Maung Taw Gawbi allegedly gathered the tokays at his house after purchasing them from local people in order to export them to China and Malaysia, where the animals are in high demand.
According to a report from Malaysia, the typical prices for tokay geckos are currently: 300 grams - 399 grams = RM25,000 - RM35,000; 400 grams - 499 grams = RM80,000 - RM120,000; 500 grams - 599 grams = RM200,000 - RM400,000; 600 grams - 799 grams = RM500,000 - RM700,000; 800 grams - 999 grams = RM800,000 - RM980,000; and above 1000 grams fetches approximately RM1 million.
"Now people in our state are hunting for tokays around Arakan to sell to local businessmen who buy tokays for exporting to China and Malaysia. There are many prices for tokays but it depends on the weight of the animal. We get over one million kyat in our state for a tokay that weights 300 grams," he said.
However, businessmen have not been buying small tokays that weigh less than 300 grams.
"We buy tokays but it must be over 300 grams in weight. We do not buy small tokays because there is no market for small tokays around the world. We will pay retail price over five million kyat for a big tokay," a tokay buyer in Sittwe said.
An Arakanese tokay trader from Chittagong on Bangladesh said that he pays five lakh, or 0.5 million taka, for a tokay weighing over 300 grams in the Bangladesh market, but he declined to say where he exports the tokays to.
According to sources, Burma does not grant license to export tokays abroad. Because of this, the police seized the tokays from Maung Taw Gawbi's house in accordance with the wild animal protection law in Burma.
Tokay geckos are in high demand by the traditional medicine industry abroad because it is believed that the reptile's tongue can cure AIDS. Some believe that its meat is also an aphrodisiac, and that its blood and bile can suppress tumors in cancer patients.
Source:http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2988
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