Customs Officers Shocked to Find 200 Rare Lizards in Socks
A 23-year-old Mexican national has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle endangered lizards into Japan after customs officers at Haneda Airport discovered about 200 reptiles concealed inside 22 pairs of socks. (News On Japan)
On August 12, a 23-year-old Mexican man, Daniel Isaac Velasco Baltasar, was apprehended at Haneda Airport in Tokyo for attempting to smuggle nine endangered arboreal alligator lizards into Japan. Customs officers discovered approximately 200 of the rare reptiles concealed within 22 pairs of socks, which had been hidden inside a suitcase.
The socks had been wrapped in T-shirts and concealed within a suitcase. The Metropolitan Police Department reported that Velasco Baltasar had packed the lizards inside the socks in an attempt to import them illegally without the necessary authorization. Velasco Baltasar admitted to purchasing the lizards in Mexico for roughly 750 yen each.
Written by urgent.news from News On Japan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
