Customs officials at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport reportedly seized more than 350 exotic animals discovered in the backpack of a Russian national arriving from South Africa.
According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, some of the animals died as a result of sudden temperature changes and improper transportation, while others were confiscated and handed over to animal rights activists who are providing veterinary care, rehabilitation and adequate treatment.
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The confiscated animals included 14 Cape dwarf chameleons, five western leopard toads, an African Rodenburg’s mabuya (a long-tailed lizard) and various insects such as woodlice, giant millipedes, painted snails, horned fungus beetles, psammodes (found only at the Cape of Good Hope) and Florida woods cockroaches, according to IOL.
‘The Russian passenger put the African animals in plastic containers, which he hid from customs officials in a tourist backpack,’ the Customs Service reportedly said in a statement.
According to reports, the man claimed that he caught the animals himself in South Africa and intended to keep them at home, but the service discovered that his intention was actually to sell them online.
The statement continued, ‘In addition, customs officers noted the similarities between this case and one involving the seizure of live cargo in December of last year at another Moscow airport.’
In a previous incident in December at another airport in Moscow, a woman was discovered attempting to smuggle 150 animals from the Philippines.
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