Customs Agents Discover Crocodile Head in Passenger’s Suitcase at Airport
Officials said the passenger had arrived in Italy on a flight from Miami via Istanbul, Turkey, when agents pulled him aside to inspect his luggage
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Crocodile-Head-in-suitcase-091326-1-5ee8291840434476a163a4545e7d957b.jpg "Customs Agents Discover Crocodile Head in Passenger’s Suitcase")
Credit: Gdf.gov
NEED TO KNOW
- An Italian man was stopped at Turin Airport after customs agents found a crocodile head in his luggage
- Italy’s Guardia di Finanza said the man had arrived at the airport on a flight from Miami via Istanbul, Turkey, when officials pulled him aside to inspect his luggage
- The crocodile species is protected under CITES, and transporting it without a license can result in fines or jail time, Italian officials said
An Italian man could face jail time after attempting to bring a crocodile head through customs on his way home from the United States.
According to Italy’s Guardia di Finanza law-enforcement agency, customs agents stopped a man who arrived at Sandro Pertini Airport (also known as Turin Airport) in Caselle Torinese for a thorough bag check.
Officials said in a Sept. 8 press release that the man had arrived at the airport on a flight from Miami via Istanbul, Turkey, when officials pulled him aside to inspect his luggage — only to find the head of a crocodile.
Credit: Gdf.gov
The Guardia di Finanza said the crocodile species found in the man’s bag is considered endangered and is protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Customs agents found the reptile’s head “dried and wrapped in ordinary wrapping paper, thus evading security in the country of departure.”
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Credit: Gdf.gov
The passenger — whose identity was not made public — was reported for importing a specimen belonging to a protected species without the required certificate or license, which is punishable by a fine of between €20,000 and €200,000 (about $23,197 to $231,973) or by imprisonment of between six months and one year, the agency said.
The bag check in Italy came as part of a targeted operation by Italian customs officials. Agents target flights “deemed to be at greatest risk” during the summer, “in light of the increased influx of passengers from so-called ‘exotic’ locations,” the Guardia di Finanza said.