A handout photo taken on May 26, 2026 and received on June 5, 2026 from the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) shows some of the 100,000 contraband cockroaches found in a raid on a commercial breeder in the town of Bathurst, west of Sydney. — AFP pic (New users only) It's tax relief season! Get up to RM300 when you save with Versa! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply. Friday, 05 Jun 2026 1:25 PM MYT SYDNEY, June 5 — Wildlife officers have busted an illegal cockroach-breeding operation in rural Australia, seizing a skin-crawling haul worth more than US$100,000 on the black market for exotic bugs.More than 100,000 contraband cockroaches were found in a raid on a commercial breeder in the town of Bathurst, west of Sydney, Australia’s environment department said today.They found Madagascar “hissing” cockroaches, a bulky insect named for its noisy defence mechanism, and dubia cockroaches, an invasive critter bred as a snack for pet lizards.Photos showed one of the seized Madagascar cockroaches was almost big enough to completely cover the palm of an adult hand.“We take our job protecting Australia’s unique biodiversity and breaches of national environment law very seriously,” an environment department spokesman said. The department said the illicit insects had an estimated value of US$140,000. — AFP pic “We’re seeing illegal breeding and trading of exotic cockroaches and we’re putting pet businesses and pet owners on notice.”The department said the illicit insects had an estimated value of US$140,000 (RM565,000).Officials now have the unenviable task of euthanising the creepy-crawlies, an insect so hardy it spawned an urban legend they could survive a nuclear blast. — AFP