Man appeared ‘conspicuously nervous’ at airport customs. Then officers opened his luggage and found something unexpected
Not all of them were alive.
Going through airport customs can be a nerve-racking experience for many travelers, since there’s always a chance of being flagged by officers when you least expect it. The same, however, can also be true for customs officers, who never know what they might encounter during their inspections. Such was the case for German customs officers, who discovered something unexpected when they opened a man’s luggage.
According to BBC, an unnamed 45-year-old Mexican firefighter was making his way through customs at Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany following a connecting flight from Mexico City via Istanbul. However, officers became suspicious after seeing his “conspicuously nervous” appearance when he used the green exit, which stated he had “nothing to declare.”
The traveler was pulled aside and was made to undergo a drug test after giving contradictory answers when asked about the purpose of his trip. His results came back positive for cocaine, and officers subsequently searched his luggage for contraband. While the officers did not find any narcotics, they did discover the traveler was transporting nearly a hundred live reptiles hidden in his luggage, including lizards such as iguanas and venomous snakes like rattlesnakes and vipers.
German airport customs found dozens of reptiles dead
Officers reported finding a total of 92 reptiles concealed in “inhumane” conditions, such as rolled-up socks, shampoo and cream bottles, and plastic containers. Because of the lack of oxygen and extreme confinement, dozens of the reptiles died not long after they were uncovered or during the trip. Those that survived were then brought to a German snake farm near Braunschweig to receive emergency care, according to Fox 56.
“My colleagues at the airport are used to all sorts of travel souvenirs in suitcases,” Cologne Customs office spokesperson Jens Ahland said. “But we’ve never had 37 live venomous snakes and 55 lizards from Mexico before.”
During an interrogation in which he spoke with a Spanish-speaking police officer, the traveler claimed he was bringing the reptiles to the country as a favor for a Brazilian acquaintance, but couldn’t identify the species he was transporting. He was ultimately deemed a security risk and denied entry into Germany before he was placed on a return flight to Istanbul the next day.
This isn’t the first time live animals have been smuggled into the country. Six years ago, Cologne Bonn Airport experienced a similar incident when 26 rare Mexican reptiles, 10 of which were dead, were discovered being smuggled through the airport. At that time, the reptiles were disguised as sweets and toys hidden inside mail parcels, destined for private buyers across Germany.
Just last year, German customs officers made 1,300 seizures nationwide involving 56,600 protected animals, plants, and related products. According to Ahland, mail parcels were a particularly popular method of concealment, accounting for 90% of these seizures.
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