MOSCOW: Russian customs arrested woman at Domodedovo airport who was trying to smuggle 55 snakes, 35 lizards, seven turtles, six lemurs, two monkeys and a suspected leopard cub in her flight luggage.
Two baby crocodiles died on the journey from Jakarta to Moscow and all the survivors appeared terrified when they were found after the 6,515-mile ordeal.
The menagerie came to light when customs officials at Domodedovo airport electronically scanned a 27kg bag belonging to an unnamed female passenger who had flown from Indonesia via Qatar.
Spokeswoman Larisa Ledovskikh said: ‘The animals were packed in tiny cages and plastic boxes and each snake was in small bag made of cloth.’
Experts are trying to identify the ‘amazingly beautiful “kitten” with bright green eyes and stripes’ among the trafficked animals.
