He got snapped on the wrist.
An Italian man is being probed for carrying a crocodile head in his luggage — and could face jail time.
After the brazen passenger, who arrived at Sandro Pertini airport in Caselle Torinese, Turin, had his bags checked, police officials came across the dead reptile. The head, which had been dried and wrapped in paper, was seized from the man, who had traveled from Miami by way of Istanbul.
He was reported “for importing a specimen belonging to a protected species without the required certificate or license,” Turin’s Guardia di Finanza, said in a statement.
If convicted, the croc smuggler could face a fine of between $23,200 and $232,000 or a six-month to one-year stint in prison.
Due to an influx of tourists visiting more exotic locations, Turin’s Guardia di Finanza has been working with customs officials to increase baggage checks in the summer months.
The cranium capture got mixed reactions online.
“An unacceptable absurdity! What we’re seeing here is a portrait of human greed ignoring wildlife. A living being, part of an endangered species, treated like an object in a suitcase,” one outraged man commented on an Instagram post by the Brazilian outlet Metrópoles about the incident.
“Meanwhile, while our customs is busy with this super seizure, suitcases full of methamphetamine are crossing the border as if it were nothing,” another quipped on a post by the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
