Airport employees at the Ben Gurion Airport area were shocked when they detained a traveller and during a search of his luggage, they found dozens of snakes in his suitcase.
They seized the reptiles and immediately contacted the Nature and Parks Authority and Veterinary Services, who joined the detectives and began identifying the snakes found. In total, about 69 snakes of various species were found in the bags.
Uri Liniel, Director of Captive Wildlife at the Nature and Parks Authority, said: "This is a large quantity of non-native reptile species that the suspect tried to smuggle into the country under improper transport conditions and without permits and health certificates for the animals. Efforts will be made to return them to their country of origin. The person who tried to smuggle the reptiles into Israel acted for financial gain while violating numerous laws."
He further stated: "We invest great efforts in preventing wildlife smuggling into Israel, and when there is a seizure of a smuggling attempt, we act to ensure that the law is fully enforced against the offenders, in this case as well as in similar cases of smuggling wildlife and products containing wildlife parts into Israel."
The Nature and Parks Authority explains that "A person smuggling wildlife and protected natural values into Israel commits serious offenses under several laws, including animal cruelty offenses, endangering public health by introducing zoonotic diseases and parasites, customs offenses and money laundering, harming wildlife, and potentially introducing invasive species that cause significant damage to local ecology and often cause significant agricultural damage. The Nature and Parks Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture, and of course the Israel Police and Customs will continue to handle and work to prevent similar offenses in the future and deal with offenders with full severity."
They also noted: "The trade in protected animals worldwide is a significant crime, ranked fourth in economic scope (after illegal trade in drugs, weapons, and humans) and is one of the most significant factors in reducing biodiversity. In Israel too, the industry turns over huge sums of money and leads to the entry of criminals from the criminal world. In recent years, we see that smuggling and trade networks are expanding, transferring and trading in wildlife with the aim of increasing capital at the expense of animals, without any thought to the great damage such trade can cause, both to wildlife and humans."