STUNNED customs officers have discovered a whole crocodile head in a passengers suitcase.
An Italian man could face jail time after officials came across the dead reptiles head within his bag at Sandro Pertini airport in Italy.
Italian customs officer were sunned to find the real croc head in a man’s luggage Credit: Italy’s Guardia di Finanza
They found the head wrapped in brown paper packaging Credit: Italy’s Guardia di Finanza
The brazen passenger who had travelled from Miami through Istanbul is now the subject of a police probe.
The reptile’s head had been wrapped in brown paper packaging in an effort to conceal it from security checks and customs, the Turin unit of Italy’s financial police squad said in a statement.
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It was swiftly seized by border authorities and the passenger, who was reportedly returning from a holiday, placed under investigation on allegations of smuggling a specimen belonging to a protected species.
If convicted, the croc smuggler could face a fine of between $23,200 and $232,000 or a six-month to one-year stint in prison.
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Crocodiles are protected under the Washington Convention, a 1973 global agreement that restricts international trade to save endangered plants and animals.
Italy is a major transit hub for the illegal trade of exotic animals.
In a 2026 report, the Italian branch of the WWF said animals including “tortoises, ornamental birds, tropical reptiles and even small primates are illegally traded via online channels and cross-border exchanges”.
Exotic animal smuggling through airports is a massive international problem driven by global criminal networks.
In May three baby monkeys were found in the underwear of a Colombian couple as they tried to flee an airport.
One of to monkeys tragically suffocated in the ordeal.
A routine police check led to the harrowing discovery with the three primates strapped to the private parts of the pair of smugglers at the Rafael Núñez International Airport, Columbia.
The woman, 27, and the man, 26, both natives of La Jagua de Ibirico, had devised the twisted plan to evade immigration controls and were arrested.
Similarly, n February shocked airport staff found live monkeys and turtles in one audacious passengers luggage.
Officers pulled aside the man when they noticed suspicious outlines in his luggage.
They found 15 live animals, including 13 live big-headed and freshwater turtles, one langur and one gibbon.
He was arrested as police seized the protected animals, before handing them over to the Wildlife Conservation Office and the Fisheries Inspection Office.
