BLAYNEY CHRONICLE (Australia) 19 June 07 Strange tales as snake smuggled in garden gnome (Erik Jensen)
Photo at URL below: Snakes and lizards were concealed in the hollow spaces of pottery figurines and garden gnomes in a smuggling racket.
Customs and Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service officers have broken a smuggling racket in which snakes and lizards were concealed in the hollow spaces of pottery figurines and garden gnomes.
Garden gnomes sent as gifts to an address in Blacktown were seized when a customs officer saw snakes moving in the package, a customs spokesman said.
Two snakes and three lizards were found inside the gnomes at the Australia Post Gateway Facility in Sydney's west on June 10.
The package was resealed and the reptiles, sent from Britain, euthanased because of quarantine concerns.
A day later, an X-ray machine found five snakes and five lizards in a set of pottery ornaments. They were also euthanased.
The second shipment of animals, from a different address in Britain, were destined for Wilberforce, north-west of Sydney.
Customs investigators searched both houses. A spokesman would not say what was found, but said their inquiries were continuing.
Smuggling wildlife carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and a $110,000 fine.
Customs National Manager for Investigations Richard Janecko said trafficking wildlife was a serious issue and had serious implications for all involved.
"Such criminal action is also a cruel practice which frequently results in the deaths of animals in transit," he said.
http://blayney.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=national news&subclass=crime&story_id=597861&category=crime
