Almost 90 reptiles carefully hidden in the luggage of a traveler from Ethiopia were discovered by the Austrian customs authorities. The animals were estimated to have a total resale value of approx 47,000 eurosas the Austrian authorities announced today.
“To their great surprise, the customs officials initially saw an incalculable quantity unprotected reptiles“, the finance ministry said in a statement, adding that the seizure took place on May 23.
The alleged smuggler, one 50 year old Czechhad attempted to evade the controls by following the exit reserved for travelers who do not have to declare goods, but was spotted by airport workers, who had been alerted to the dangers of a plane taking off from Addis Ababa.
“Some of the stacked reptiles already brought obvious signs of dehydration“, but “all recovered“, added the ministry, which released photos. The animals were immediately sent to her zoo Vienna for care. All were saved 85 geckos of different species, two snakes and two scorpions.
Their sale was expected to bring the nearly 50-year-old 47,000 euros, according to calculations by the customs authorities. During questioning, the traveler said the geckos “were worthless” according to him and that he had brought them to feed his snakes.
Source: News Beast
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