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Albino hummingbirds may be pretty rare, but for that matter, seeing someone walking around with shorts filled with hummingbirds isn’t an every day sight either. It seems that releasing their birds from their bonds and putting them back in the man’s pants might just be the best punishment for the smuggler.
Link Via BoingBoing
Marijuana smugglers apparently have a problem with the US border fence near Tucson, Arizona -and those pesky border patrols. So they’ve turned to ancient technology to deliver the goods -a catapult!
On Friday evening, National Guard troops operating a remote video surveillance system at the Naco Border Patrol Station observed several people south of the International Boundary Fence preparing a catapult and launching packages over the International Border fence, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Border Patrol agents working with the National Guard contacted Mexican authorities, who went to the location and disrupted the catapult operation. The camera showed the individuals fleeing the area before they could be intercepted by Mexican authorities.
The Mexican officials seized about 45 pounds of marijuana, a sport utility vehicle, and the catapult device.
Link (with video) -via Boing Boing
When laws forbid people from transporting something from one place to another, there will be those who try to do it anyway. Smuggled drugs, guns, cash, stolen goods, and immigrants are seized every day. However, some things that people try to sneak through security make you scratch your head in wonder.
1. Turtles and Snakes
(Image credit: Antara/Ismar Patrizki)
Officials at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia saw shipping containers labeled “fresh fruit” bound for Hong Kong this past February. What they found inside were two tons of live reptiles! They seized 25 bags of Chinese rat snakes and 3,492 pig-nosed turtles. Export of these species from Indonesia is not illegal, but is regulated and the exporter apparently wanted to bypass quarantine laws. The snakes and turtles would most likely have been used to make soup and sex-enhancing drugs at their destination, according to officials.
2. Chihuahua
A man traveling from Bulgaria arrived at the Dublin airport after changing planes in Madrid. He looked nervous, so inspectors in Ireland selected him for a spot check. When they x-rayed his hand luggage, the image of a dog showed up. Screeners thought it must be a toy or statue, as the dog was standing up. But when they opened the bag, they found a live chihuahua! The dog had been in a small cage inside the bag throughout the trip. The traveler had planned to give the chihuahua to a friend in Ireland as a gift, but intended to bypass quarantine laws. The dog was seized and placed in quarantine.
3. Fish
The Asian arowana, commonly called the dragon fish, is considered lucky in many Asian cultures. However, the species is on the endangered list and is illegal to sell or import. Some people will pay a thousand dollars for a small specimen, or up to $20,000 for a large adult, which can grow up to two feet long. A 2005 sting operation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service led to the arrest of Andree Gunawan on charges of smuggling and selling endangered wildlife from Indonesia. Gunawan and six other people were also recently indicted in connection with the case.
4. Songbirds
In April of last year, a man named Sony Dong was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for bringing in live songbirds from Vietnam. Dong had been under investigation for a year after airport official found an abandoned bag containing 18 birds, five of which had died. This time, customs official were waiting for him to arrive on a flight from Vietnam. Observing that Dong had bird droppings on his shoes, they found he had swaddled 14 Vietnamese songbirds in cloth and attached them to his lower legs under his pants. All the birds survived the trip. Dong pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months and ordered to pay $4,000 for the care of the birds.
Customs agents in Milan, Italy seized 88 pounds of Beluga caviar as it was smuggled from Poland. The stash is valued at over half a million dollars!
Newspaper Corriere Della Sera says the caviar had an estimated value of $550,000 (£370,000).
Tests showed the caviar to be edible, so it is to be given to canteens, hospices and shelters for the poor.
Beluga caviar is the most expensive variety of the delicacy.
Link -Thanks, Justin!
