The 16 animals were found in a backpack when one of the three men was caught in Christchurch only hours after his arrival, by a Department of Conservation wildlife ranger.
That man, Manfred Walter Bachmann, a 55-year-old German resident in Kampala, Uganda, was remanded in custody for sentence on March 3 when he pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing the absolutely protected wildlife.
After his arrest, further inquiries led to the arrest of two other men who appeared in the Christchurch District Court today charged with hunting the geckos and possession of the animals.
Thomas Benjamin Price (31), a stockbroker from Gallen, Switzerland, and Gustavo Eduardo Toledo-Albarran, a 28-year-old chef from Carranza, Mexico, were remanded in custody until tomorrow.
They agreed to the remand in custody because they have been unable to arrange a bail address, but counsel Simon Graham told Judge John Strettell it was hoped an address could be found so they could be released tomorrow.
They were remanded without plea.
The department is alleging the three were operating together.
Manfred Bachmann was carrying the geckos inside pieces of plastic pipe inside his backpack when arrested by the Wildlife Enforcement Group.
Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie said that acting on information received, Bachmann was spoken to by the ranger in downtown Christchurch at 7pm that day.
When confronted, Bachmann admitted he had the reptiles in his backpack, which was then seized.
The bag contained two groups of seven short lengths of alkathene tube, taped together and sealed at each end with insulation tape. Thirteen of the tubes had adult jewelled geckos, and one contained three immature animals.
At least nine of the 11 females were pregnant and were likely to give birth to one or two young in the next few weeks.
All the animals were found only on the Otago Peninsula and are also known as Otago Peninsula jewelled geckos.
Bachmann admitted he knew the animals were to be exported from New Zealand, but he was to pass them on to another person to export. He would not disclose the name, but he did give the name of the person who had given him the packages. He said he expected to be paid later.
Mr Bodie said geckos were the subject of an international illegal trade, particularly in Europe. The conservative street value of New Zealand green geckos traded by Bachmann was about $12,000 per animal, or about $192,000 for the 16.
Enforcement group investigator Stuart Williamson said nine of the geckos in Bachmann's possession were pregnant and it had yet to be determined if they had come to any harm.
"At this stage, they appear quite healthy.
"The thing we're concerned with, because they were concealed inside plastic pipes, was the stress factor.
"This sort of stress could cause them to abort their young or have stillborn young."
Because Bachmann was caught in a central Christchurch street (and not at an airport), he was charged under the Wildlife Act rather than the Trade in Endangered Species Act.
In January, 58-year-old German Hans Kubus was jailed for 14 weeks and fined $5000 under the Endangered Species Act when he was caught at Christchurch Airport with 24 geckos and 20 skinks.
"You can lay more charges if he was actually in the process of jumping on a flight," Mr Williamson said.
He believed jewelled geckos would be "more valuable" on the international black market than the brown geckos in Kubus' possession.
Each of those was estimated to be worth $2000.
"They're certainly attractive, unfortunately, to overseas collectors.
"The down side of putting a value on them is that it makes it attractive to every man and his dog to suddenly go out and start collecting them."
The 16 geckos are being kept in an "appropriate" container in a secure place until investigations have been completed.
The enforcement group consists of staff from the Department of Conservation, New Zealand Customs Service and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Mr Williamson said on this occasion it also received police assistance.
Doc coastal Otago area manager Robin Thomas said the theft was "a sad indictment on society really, that a greedy few try to exploit the wildlife.
"These are really special animals.
"They're rare, fantastic animals in their own right but the best place to see them is in the wild."
Mr Thomas said the department would be "very cagey" about discussing where on the peninsula the geckos had come from.
"I'm quite nervous about releasing detail for the simple reason we just don't want others to get a stupid idea in their mind."
Mr Thomas said to take nine pregnant females out of "a relatively small population could potentially have quite a catastrophic effect on localised populations".
He understood jewelled geckos on the peninsula numbered in the hundreds rather than the tens of thousands.
"They are in relatively low numbers in relatively discrete sites."
Mr Thomas said there had been "suspicion" in the past that jewelled geckos had been stolen from the peninsula.
"They are a stunning looking animal and relatively rare and as a consequence I guess the greedy covet them."
Mr Thomas said the department would have to take into account genetic issues and the risk of disease when returning the 16 geckos to the wild.
