What began as a drug-related customs check at Cologne Bonn Airport ended with German officers uncovering 92 reptiles hidden inside shampoo bottles, plastic containers, and even in socks.
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The BBC reported that the passenger was a 45-year-old Mexican firefighter who had tried to pass through the green "nothing to declare" exit before customs stopped him for a drug test after he appeared "conspicuously nervous."
Due to his nervous state, the German authorities tested him for drugs, which resulted in a positive cocaine reading, leading to more scrutiny.
But instead of uncovering more narcotics, his suitcase was found to hold 37 live venomous snakes and 55 other lizards, including vipers, rattlesnakes, and iguanas, tucked among his toiletries and clothing, according to the report.
Customs said that unfortunately some of the animals died on the trip, which came from Mexico City through Istanbul. Cologne Customs spokesman Jens Ahland confirmed that some of the reptiles were kept "in inhumane conditions."
The BBC also noted that the man told officers he was transporting the reptiles as a favor for a Brazilian acquaintance. The German authorities subsequently denied him entry and sent him back to Istanbul.
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More background
Wildlife smuggling can undermine conservation efforts and put airport workers, veterinarians, and rescue facilities in difficult and dangerous situations when animals arrive injured, dead, or severely stressed.
Officials said the seizure was not an isolated incident. As the BBC reported, German customs recorded more than 1,300 seizures nationwide involving more than 56,600 protected animals, plants, or products made from them last year alone.
The figures point to wildlife trafficking as an ongoing enforcement issue that stretches across borders, buyers, and animal-care systems. Each seizure reflects continued demand for rare species and the dangers of packing live animals into luggage and moving them through passenger routes.
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