350 exotic animals found in airport luggage (VIDEO)

The live cargo was illegally brought to Moscow by a smuggler from South Africa, the Russian customs service said

The Russian Customs Service (FTS) has seized a consignment of more than 350 exotic animals and insects from a Russian national, who tried to smuggle them into the country from South Africa.

The animals and insects were intercepted at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, the service said on Thursday. The specimens were transported in plastic containers in the smuggler’s luggage.

The man claimed that had personally caught the animals in South Africa and planned to keep them at home, but the service established that he was actually seeking to sell them online. It was not immediately clear whether he actually caught them all or procured them from local illegal traders.

The haul included various exotic animals, including 14 pygmy chameleons and other lizards, five toads, as well as assorted insects, including giant centipedes, woodlice, and cockroaches, according to the FTS. Some of the animals did not make it to Russia alive, having perished during the trip due to “sharp temperature changes and inept transportation,” the service stated.

The seized specimens were handed over to animal rights activists for temporary keeping, and they are now receiving proper care and veterinary attention. The incident may be part of a larger-scale scheme, the FTS noted, as it was already linked to a failed smuggling attempt foiled last December, when a woman traveling from the Philippines was caught with 150 live animals concealed in her luggage at one of Moscow’s airports.