Right Juris

A Norwegian man has been arrested for attempting to smuggle snakes and geckos into Norway. He had the reptiles taped to his body, in various places. His stash was discovered when he was ‘jiggling too much’.

When a 22-year-old man from Norway got off a ferry that had landed in Kristiansand, Norway after traveling from Hirtshals, Denmark, his whole body was jiggling and shaking. The constant movement of his body drew the attention of customs officials. When he was searched, Customs agent Helge Breilid said that he was found to have 14 royal pythons and 10 albino leopard geckos under his clothing.

The laws in Norway prohibit citizens from owning most types of reptiles, so it’s not uncommon that they are smuggled into the country. Still, the Kristiansand customs agents are reported to have been horrified by the discovery.

The unidentified man had the snakes in stockings and had used duck-tape to tape them onto his body. The geckos were in little cans that were tapped to his legs. He also had a tarantula in one of his bags. The royal python is the smallest member of the python family and is non-venomous.

After customs did a full body search and recovered all the lizards and snakes, the man was arrested by the Kristiansand police. He was released after paying a fine of 12,500 Norwegian crowns, that amounts to $2,256. The reptiles are now in state custody until Norwegian officials figure out what to do with them.

Traveling can be uncomfortable to begin with. Can you imagine traveling with wiggly snakes and geckos taped to your body. Just think, he might have gotten away with the whole adventure had he just been able to keep those snakes still! Then again, maybe he was the decoy to draw the customs agents attention while someone else got off the ferry with a load of drugs. Just saying ….

You can see photos of the Norwegian man’s stash of snakes and geckos here. Here’s a Norwegian video for more pictures of the man and the reptiles he attempted to smuggle into Norway. The video below is the news report about the incident.