Mexican firefighter arrested with 37 snakes and 55 lizards at Cologne‑Bonn Airport
Written by AI from 5 reports listed below. Not checked by a person before publication. How we use AI
Customs officials stopped a 45‑year‑old Mexican firefighter at Cologne‑Bonn Airport after finding 37 live venomous snakes and 55 lizards in his suitcase; he tested positive for cocaine, was denied entry and flown to Istanbul, and the surviving reptiles were sent to a German snake farm.
Arrest and screening
A 45‑year‑old Mexican firefighter was stopped at Cologne‑Bonn Airport after a routine check revealed a large number of live reptiles in his suitcase. Customs officials said the man appeared extremely nervous while trying to go through the green channel.
The passenger tested positive for cocaine during a drugs test conducted by customs officials, although no drugs were found in his suitcase.
Reptile cargo
The suitcase contained 37 live venomous snakes and 55 lizards, including vipers, rattlesnakes and iguanas, totaling around 90 reptiles according to one report and 92 according to the detailed count.
Customs spokesman Jens Ahland said the airport had never encountered such a shipment of 37 live venomous snakes and 55 lizards from Mexico before.
Customs officials described the animals as being kept in inhuman or inhumane conditions; about 30 reptiles died during or after the journey from Mexico City via Istanbul.
The surviving animals are being cared for at a snake farm in central Germany.
Legal outcome
The man was denied entry to Germany and flown back to Istanbul.
He claimed he was transporting the reptiles as a favor for a friend in Brazil.
Customs context
Last year German customs authorities carried out more than 1,300 seizures nationwide involving over 56,600 protected animals and plants or products derived from them.