Los Angeles: A smuggler tried to sneak into the United States as he hid snakes and horned lizards around his groin, the customs officials said.
The man carried 52 bags of reptiles hidden in his body as he was asked to come out of his truck at the San Ysidro border crossing in California recently.
According to officials, the bagged reptiles, which were later identified as 43 horned lizards and nine snakes, were hidden in his jacket, trouser pockets and groin area.
“Smugglers will try every possible way to try and get their product, or in this case live reptiles, across the border,” Sidney Aki of the Customs and Border Patrol in San Diego was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
“The smuggler attempted to deceive CBP officers in order to bring these animals into the US, without taking care for the health and safety of the animals,” Aki said.
His live cargo, which according to officials included endangered creatures, was quarantined.
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