A Japanese woman was stopped, searched and arrested last night at Suvarnabhumi airport when her suitcase was seen to be moving around on its own and turned out to contain a whopping, slithering 55 alive reptiles.
Maki Takahashi, 44, who was traveling with her 6-month-old son, has been arrested for attempted smuggling of endangered species. She was headed to Tokyo.
Airport officials said that their suspicions were aroused when staff told them that they saw something moving inside Takahashi’s bag.
Inside her suitcase, police found: 32 turtles of a protected species, 8 young monitor lizards as well as 15 crocodile lizards, reported Bangkok Post.
She told police she was transporting the suitcase for a man who had given her approximately THB30,000 money to do so. She said she didn’t know what was inside.
She told police that she needed the cash to take care of her baby.
