Crocodile Head in a Suitcase

“Russia Today” – Police at Turin’s Caselle Airport in northern Italy discovered a dried crocodile head, from a species critically endangered, inside the luggage of an Italian man, according to a statement issued by Turin’s unit of the Italian Financial Police.

The man arrived at the airport on a flight from Miami via Istanbul, and had wrapped the reptile’s head in brown paper packaging in an attempt to conceal it from security and customs inspections, the statement added.

Authorities immediately confiscated the head and placed the traveler, who was reportedly returning from a vacation, under investigation for smuggling a specimen belonging to a protected species.

The Washington Convention, a global agreement signed in 1973 to protect endangered plants and animals from the risks of international trade, safeguards crocodiles from such threats.

Police stated that the operation in Turin is part of a broader campaign in Italy to combat illegal wildlife trade, adding: “The specimen was confiscated because it was imported without the required certificate or permit.”