Seven people in Heze, Shandong province were arrested on Aug. 9 after they captured 620 geckoes to sell for profit, local media reported.

Before dawn on Aug. 9, a villager surnamed Xie reported to police that there was a suspicious van driving around the village. After stopping the van, police found dozens of jars filled with live geckoes. Meanwhile, six women were spotted searching for still geckoes. The six women and the driver of the van were all brought in for questioning.

Though geckoes are not rare animals, they were listed as economically and scientifically valuable by the State Forestry Administration in 2000. According to the law, it is considered a crime for people to poach more than 20 wild animals, including geckoes. One of the women brought in for questioning confessed that they could earn 50 yuan ($7.50) per kilogram of geckoes.

The captured geckoes have been released and the case is currently under investigation.