When heading on vacation, one needs to make sure they have their clothes, toothbrush and a live albino alligator in their suitcase. Officials discovered just that in an American man’s suitcase in a German airport.
The three-foot-long alligator was detected at the Munich Airport at one of the airport’s security checkpoints. As the suitcase moved through the X-ray machine, airport officials noticed the outline of the reptile on the screen.
The alligator was kept in a circular position with duct tape and plastic cling wrap with only its nostrils unwrapped. The rare reptile’s health was in poor condition at the time but the alligator is in better shape now after receiving care from animal keepers.
It was reported that the unidentified man was trying to bring the alligator through Munich Airport traveling to Singapore. The 42-year-old’s cell phone was also confiscated and he was ordered to pay a five-digit security deposit.
A criminal investigation is currently in progress as the man is believed to have violated Germany’s Species Protection and Animal Welfare Act. German authorities have yet to confirm whether the man’s strange way of transporting the alligator was a smuggling attempt.
Rare animals such as the albino alligator fetch a high price in Singapore’s illegal animal trade. Wildlife experts estimate that there are only about 100 to 200 albino alligators in the world.