The Austrian customs has caught a passenger at Vienna airport in the alleged smuggling of almost 90 reptiles. The man wanted to resell the animals at a reptile fair in Germany, said the Ministry of Finance.
The man had flown from the Philippine capital Manila via Doha to Vienna. Checking his luggage with an X-ray machine, the authorities said Sunday the live animals in the suitcase on. The traveler admitted that poisonous snakes were in the suitcase.
The customs then attracted experts from the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, who opened the luggage. In it were two Samar cobras and 18 Bindenwarane, which are subject to species protection. Also included were bamboo vipers and 40 emerald geckos in the suitcase. Many of the small animals were kept in fine stockings.
The Tiergarten Schönbrunn and the reptile zoo Happ in Klagenfurt recorded the 43 poisonous snakes and 45 other reptiles. A lawsuit against smuggling and violation of the Species Trade Act was initiated against the man.