A 44-year-old Russian man was stopped by customs officers at the airport in Novokuznetsk after arriving on a flight from Cam Ranh, Vietnam, with two stuffed crocodiles hidden in his luggage. The find was reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, citing the press service of the Kemerovo customs service.
The man was pulled aside for a random baggage check, according to customs officials. Inside his bags, officers discovered two taxidermied Siamese crocodiles, a species considered critically endangered and protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES.
Both reptiles measured 19 centimeters in length and weighed 165 grams each. Their jaws had been mounted open, with strings of pearl beads placed inside their mouths as decoration.
The traveler told customs officers he had not known the stuffed animals needed to be declared, saying he had bought them as souvenirs during his trip. Authorities have opened administrative proceedings against him, and he faces a fine.
What CITES protects
CITES is an international agreement signed by more than 180 countries that regulates and restricts trade in animals and plants at risk of extinction. The Siamese crocodile, native to Southeast Asia, is listed among the species most threatened by hunting and habitat loss, and trade in the animal or its parts is tightly controlled.
Cam Ranh, the Vietnamese coastal city the man flew from, is a popular resort destination for Russian tourists and home to one of the country's busiest international airports.
Similar customs cases
The incident follows a separate case in which a Russian woman was stopped by customs officers at the airport in Ufa after attempting to take a 19th-century icon, depicting the Old Testament Trinity, out of the country to Egypt. Officers discovered the antique icon inside her suitcase during a search.
