Sydney, Australia – Australian officials found more than a dozen snakes and lizards stuffed inside garden gnomes and other ceramic statues during a recent international mail check, customs officials said Tuesday.
A customs official found two snakes and three lizards wriggling inside ceramic statues during a routine postal inspection in Sydney on June 10. It was not immediately clear what types of snakes and lizards were in the shipments.
“When the package was opened, the officer spotted several snakes moving about. The package was immediately resealed,” Australian customs said in a statement.
A day later, officials at the same facility found another package filled with five snakes and five lizards stuffed inside pottery figures and other ornaments.
Both packages had been sent from Britain and had been declared as gifts.
It is illegal to bring live reptiles into Australia without a license. No one was arrested over the incident, but Customs said its investigation was continuing.
The reptiles had to be euthanized due to quarantine regulations.
