Customs Open Bag Of Snakes From Thailand

[george]

Customs open bag of snakes

BRISBANE: -- Some slippery new arrivals gave Brisbane airport staff quite a shock this week after the scaly travellers were allegedly found wriggling inside a passenger's cabin bag.

But the six snakes Customs officers initially found were only the tip of the iceberg, with officials claiming a further 33 exotic reptiles were found inside a second piece of the passenger's luggage at Brisbane International Airport on Monday.

Customs officer Marni Funnell said when she searched the man's bag she found what she believed was a toy snake.

"I picked up the snake. At first I thought it was a fake because it was bright yellow and had reddish spots, but then it started to wriggle," she said.

"I was just in shock and then the snakes and all the other reptiles started coming out from everywhere."

The menagerie of wildlife included green tree snakes and albino pythons, iguanas, frilled-neck dragons, slider turtles and tree monitors that were allegedly concealed in speaker boxes and food containers in the bag.

Customs claimed some of the snakes found in the man's cabin bag had been in plastic containers and shampoo bottles.

The passenger was referred to Customs for examination by an Immigration officer after arriving from Singapore via Thailand.

Late yesterday, Katsuhide Naito, 39, of Japan appeared in custody in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court charged with importing regulated live specimens without a permit under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The office worker – who does not speak English – had a translator during his brief court appearance before he was remanded in custody to reappear in court on Friday.

The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $110,000 and/or 10 years' jail.

Customs Regional Director Queensland Jenny Eutick said the smuggling of animals was regarded as a serious offence.

She said Australia had some of the strictest wildlife protection laws in the world and was a signatory to international conventions which outlawed the trafficking of endangered and exotic species.

"As is often the case with the cruel trade of wildlife smuggling, several specimens did not survive the journey," Ms Eutick said.

--The Courier-Mail, AU, 2005-08-24

[dr_Pat_Pong]

How would you have liked to sit next to the bugger ?

[kenk3z]

A shampoo bottle full of military-grade plastic explosive is probably enough to split a plane in half, much less cause the same type of decompression recently seen on that Cypriot airliner. Detonation likely has to be rigged once the passenger has boarded. Rechargeable shaver with detonator prongs. Overall, has to be a bit more sophisticated than trying to light one's shoe. But within possibility.

Baggage security is going to have to start dumping out entire contents rather than relying on x-ray machines and feeling around inside a mostly closed bag.

And where was the boarding security? I wonder what a bag of snakes looks like on an x-ray machine?

kenk3z

[FreedomDude]

I find it scary that the flight originated in Singapore, a country whose baggage screening I would think would be quite thorough.

[Amethyst]

How would you have liked to sit next to the bugger ?

Ill strangle his neck with his long bright Snake...

[dr_Pat_Pong]

How would you have liked to sit next to the bugger ?

Ill strangle his neck with his long bright Snake...

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