Man with crocodile skull in luggage arrested at New Delhi airport

NEW DELHI -- A Canadian man has been arrested by Indian authorities at New Delhi's airport after a crocodile skull was found in his luggage.

The 32-year-old man, who was not named by authorities, was on his way to Canada from the Indian capital when he was stopped during a security check at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL).

"Upon examination, a skull with sharp teeth, resembling the jaw of a baby crocodile, weighing approximately 777 grams, was discovered wrapped in a cream-colored cloth," Delhi Customs said in a X statement on Thursday.

It said the skull belongs to a species protected under the country's Wildlife Protection Act and that the man had violated the law and its Customs Act.

The skull has been handed over to the Department of Forests and Wildlife for lab testing, customs said.

"This case highlights a serious violation of wildlife and customs laws. Collaboration between Customs and Forest Departments is crucial to ensuring such protected wildlife items are not smuggled," Delhi Customs said.

A 2022 report by TRAFFIC, a non-governmental organization that monitors the wildlife trade, found that as India's aviation sector rapidly grows, so too does "the misuse of airports for smuggling wildlife" within India and across the region.

Between 2011 and 2020, 141 incidents of wildlife seizures were reported at airports across India, involving 146 animal species. Reptiles - including crocodiles, lizards, snakes and tortoises - were the most encountered group during that time period, accounting for 46% of those seizures.

"India is among the top ten countries in terms of using the airline sector for wildlife trafficking," said Atul Bagai, then-Head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in India, following the report's release. "This is an unwanted accolade."

The Indian government has sought to crack down on the trafficking of wild animals under its Wildlife Protection Act and as a member of CITES, the highest international lawmaking body on wildlife trade.

The Canadian traveler isn't the first to attempt to bring animals or animal parts in carry-on luggage.

Last year, the TSA found a four-foot-long live boa constrictor in a passenger's bag at Florida's Tampa Airport (TPA), resulting in a series of snake puns on Instagram.

"Our officers ... didn't find this hyssssssterical!," the agency said. "We really have no adder-ation for discovering any pet going through an X-ray machine."

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