Israel-bound flier caught at Berlin airport with boa constrictor in his pants
43-year-old man nabbed when security notices bulge in his pants; German customs call it ‘the most curious find’ of last year
German officials apprehended a 43-year-old man boarding a flight to Israel with a 40-centimeter (15.7 inch) boa constrictor stuffed in his pants on Christmas Eve.
Security staff at Berlin-Schönefeld Airport noticed a bulge and realized he “carried something in his pants that did not belong there,” according to a press release from German customs (German).
Security personnel pulled the unnamed man aside for a search by federal police and customs, and the would-be smuggler pulled a cloth bag containing a live boa from his pants.
The man did not have any documents pertaining to the snake, which security confiscated and brought to a reptile rescue station in Brandenburg.
Boas are protected under the Washington Convention on the Protection of Cities (CITES), and their import or export from the European Union is forbidden without prior written approval.
The man will be punished with a fine.
German customs officials called the snake “the most curious find of 2018.”
