SHILLONG: Five persons including a woman from the State were arrested for possessing geckoes.
Geckoes are in the list of endangered wildlife animals as per the Wildlife Act.
This is the first time in the recent past that people of the State were held with geckoes.
According to police, on Saturday, at around 1:45 pm, five persons Kordor Lamare (53), a woman identified as Chanda Rynghang (44), Itynnad Lymphuid (28), Rikshon Makroh (80) and December Marsing (42) were arrested from Mawiong Lynti Rim (Old GS Road), here with two geckoes in their possession.
It is yet to be known whether the seized geckoes were meant to be smuggled by the poachers.
There were reports from parts of the North East especially from Manipur regarding smuggling of geckoes, which have medicinal value, to South East Asian countries.
Many believe that medicines prepared from the meat of geckoes can cure various illnesses including HIV.
