Six people detained by police for 1,600 wild gecko poach  

河南六名農民捕捉1600只壁虎被刑拘 涉非法狩獵罪

(ECNS) -- Six farmers in Henan province were detained by local police on Wednesday for having poached over 1,600 geckos, Dahe Daily reported.

Police officers in Yanling county seized the captured geckos beside a road while out on patrol around 1am of Tuesday. The six, farmers of neighboring Fugou county, claimed they didn't know this type of hunting was against the law.

A police officer surnamed Chen said though the geckos aren't under national protection, China's criminal laws prescribe that private hunting of over 20 wild geckos at a time constitutes a crime. When the number exceeds 50, it becomes a major criminal offence, he added.

Police officers have freed most of the geckos, retaining a few as evidence.