A man tried to smuggle 52 live lizards and snakes into the US hidden in his clothing.
Customs officers found the reptiles tied up in small bags “which were concealed in the man’s jacket, pants pockets, and groin area” as he tried to cross from Mexico into California in a truck, authorities said.
Nine snakes and 43 horned lizards, some considered endangered species, were seized at the San Ysidro border crossing during the search on February 25, US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
The man, a 30-year-old US citizen, was arrested.
“Smugglers will try every possible way to try and get their product, or in this case live reptiles, across the border,” said Sidney Aki, Customs and Border Protection director of field operations in San Diego.
“In this occasion, the smuggler attempted to deceive CBP officers in order to bring these animals into the US, without taking care for the health and safety of the animals.”
The US Mexico border is a key crossing in the thriving black market for wildlife.
In San Diego alone, officers with US Customs and Border Protection have seized snakes, tiger cubs, parrots and fighting cocks, as well as animal products such as the bladders of totoaba — an endangered fish in the Gulf of California — sea turtle eggs, ivory and whale bones.
