Monkeys in your pants and other hilarious antics of wildlife smugglers

Last week I wrote about smugglers who were caught trying to sneak butterflies and chameleons into Croatia. Following that article, a reader sent me an article on some hilarious antics of other criminals who got caught in the act of smuggling strange cargo:

In the United States, wildlife smuggling is the nation’s second-largest black market, (behind narcotics), worth $9 billion a year.
Some of the more interesting highlights seen at Los Angeles International Airport include:

In 2006 A Japanese man was arrested for smuggling Queen Alexandra’s birdwings, one of the largest butterflies in the world, worth $8,500 USD. And in the same year four people were accused of trafficking in the endangered dragon fish.

In 2002 A Palm Springs man attempted to hide two Asian leopard cats in a backpack. He was busted when his travelling companion was also caught. Authorities noticed a large birds of paradise flying out of his luggage. Further inspection revealed 50 rare orchid bulbs, birds stuffed into women’s stockings and two lesser slow lorises (pygmy monkeys) stuffed in his underwear! The poor animals were saved form an 18 hour journey from Asia in this man’s pants!

And most recently, a man has been charged with smuggling reptiles from South Asia in his prosthetic leg.

Some people bring in rare and exotic species as pets but others realize it is big business. Unfortunately, once an animal is taken from the wild, it cannot usually be returned to its place of origin, for fear of disease, and so is often placed in a local zoo, where its chances of long-term survival are reduced.

Smugglers arrested for illegal trade of butterflies, chameleons and tortoises

My last post was about an unusual discovery, worth more then gold. We often get caught up in classic representations of monetary value and forget what people will pay for rarities of the natural world. Recently, two recent smugglers were busted for their unique consignments:

At the Zagreb airport, recently, Croatian customs officials stopped a man who was trying to smuggle 175 chameleons and 10 tortoises from Thailand. The man arrived in the Croatian capital by plane from Budapest, Hungary, carrying the reptiles in his suitcases. Animal protection officials said the reptiles are protected species.

The suspect claims to have purchased the animals at a Bangkok market for about $150 USD, but officials estimated the animals were worth about $200,000 USD. Customs officers have charged the man with violating import laws, the Croatian news agency HINA said.

In another incident, Serbian authorities intercepted a package containing 98 rare butterflies originating from the Solomon Islands and being shipped to Belgrade.

The butterflies are an endangered species protected under international convention and are estimated to be worth more than $10,000 USD on the black market. The person who was to receive the package will be charged with smuggling.