A youth was arrested in Murshidabad on Friday on the charge of smuggling from Bangladesh a gecko that is poached for the medicine trade in certain parts of Asia.

Mohammed Isa, 28, who was picked up from Farakka, has told interrogators that he was transporting the reptile to a buyer in Jharkhand working as the conduit of a Chinese client. Isa, who hails from Malda, claimed that the Chinese buyer had agreed to pay a high price for the gecko.

Sources said the seized reptile was a tokay gecko, which is native to Asia and some Pacific islands. The gecko will be handed over to the forest department.

The sources said tokay geckos were culturally significant in many East Asian countries, with regional folklore attributing supernatural powers to them. They are used in traditional Chinese medicines to nourish kidneys and lungs.