Customs at Cologne/Bonn airport seize 37 venomous snakes and 55 lizards from Mexican traveller

A positive drug test and a suitcase search

Customs officers at Cologne/Bonn airport singled out a 45-year-old Mexican man after he appeared nervous during a spot check. A rapid drug test returned a positive result for cocaine, according to a customs press release issued on Thursday, 15 October. Officers then searched his luggage for narcotics and found none. Instead they found live reptiles hidden in shampoo and face-cream containers, plastic boxes and pairs of socks. The suitcase held a large number of animals packed into very little space. The man had flown in from Mexico City with a stopover in Istanbul, and he told officials he was travelling to Germany on holiday. The search took place more than three weeks before the customs office made the case public.

Snakes and lizards in the haul

The seizure included 37 venomous snakes and 55 lizards, according to the customs office. Most of the snakes were vipers and rattlesnakes, and officers could not immediately say which species they were. Among the lizards were spiny-tailed iguanas, salamanders and tree skinks. Ahland said one officer opened a shampoo bottle and was startled to find several small snakes inside, and up to six snakes were found in a single plastic bottle. Some of the species are endangered and strictly protected, although the customs spokesman said most are simply rare. The animals had been packed into the suitcase in breach of animal protection rules. Customs said about thirty of them did not survive, having had no water or food on the journey. Ahland said the find was unlike anything the office had seen before:

We have not yet experienced this in this dimension.

Transport to a snake farm

Veterinarians from Cologne were called in first, and after looking at photos they recognised that the animals were mostly vipers and rattlesnakes. A snake farm near Braunschweig then collected the reptiles and is now nursing the survivors. The farm lies about three hours' drive from the airport. Ahland described the transport as extremely contrary to animal welfare rules, with no water and no food for the animals. He stressed how long the trip had been:

We are not talking about two or three hours here.

Investigation and entry refusal

The traveller told officers the reptiles were meant for a Brazilian acquaintance and that he had carried them as a favour during his holiday. He described himself as a firefighter, and investigators are checking whether that is accurate. The traveller could at first barely explain which animals he had in his luggage. The customs office said the investigation against the 45-year-old is ongoing and that investigators suspect the animals were smuggled for commercial purposes. A Spanish-speaking colleague from the Federal Police helped the customs officers question him. Federal police then refused him entry to Germany, judging him a public danger, and he was sent back to Istanbul.